Konoha Kara No Dansei
by Grindell
Summary: Naruto is a photographer who wants to capture the beauty in life. Sasuke is New York's top model, who would like no more than to quit. Eventual NaruSasuNaru. Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

**Konoha Kara No Dansei**

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**Author:** Grindell 

**Betas: **El-Gilliath and KFergari

**Pairing:** NaruSasuNaru

**Rating:** T for now, maybe M later.

**Warnings:** cursing, boy love

**Disclaimer:** Why would Kishimoto submit an english fanfic to a primarily english website? We all know he only posts japanese fanfics, you sillies!

**Summary:** Naruto is a photographer who wants to capture the beauty in life. Sasuke is New York's top model, who would like no more than to quit.

Hey there everybody! This is not my first fanfic ever, but it is the first in several years. Here's chapter one, up and betaed!

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Morning was crisp and new in the forest after a night of rain. The distinct smell of rainwater on pine permeated the air and lulled the occupants of the forest into lazy contentment. A small fox delicately placed her feet as she sniffed through the wet grass, searching for food to bring her kits. 

Suddenly, a strange clicking noise made her look up suddenly. She stared in the direction the sound had come from, her ears held high and her eyes wide. The fox's nose twitched as she smelled the air in search of a threat, but she was down wind and so she caught nothing. The rapid clicking sound continued. After a moment she bound into the trees, leaving whatever it was behind.

Lying down in the tall grass, a blonde boy with whisker marks on his cheeks grinned from ear to ear. He lowered his large black camera from the front of his face, utterly impressed with its performance. The shutter speed on his new camera kicked serious ass!

Naruto sat up and crossed his legs as he flipped back through the twenty or so pictures he had just taken on his digital camera. His brand new, top of the line, Fujifilm IS-1 camera! He nearly burst out with glee when he found several pictures he liked, bouncing like a little kid on Christmas morning. The lighting was good in the early morning so he didn't have to worry about using a flash, and although the camera was a little heavier than he was used to he was quickly getting the hang of it. Naruto snickered at the fox staring back at him from the screen, looking very much like a fox himself. "This baby is gonna buy me a month's worth of ramen at least!"

At the young age of twenty-one, Naruto Uzumaki was fresh out of his two year art college. He was currently freelancing, getting work from a calendar company and the occasional wedding. He enjoyed working out and playing video games. Another one of his long time hobbies was photography, and now it was his profession. And he didn't mind telling anyone who would listen that several of his professors could be quoted as saying his work was "some of the most unique and intriguing they had ever seen." Heh heh! He even sold some prints over the Internet from his personal website. Yep. Everything was going swimmingly except… why _why__WHY_ did bills have to exist?!

Naruto slumped, remembering how his cable had been shut off two weeks ago. If he didn't hurry his electricity would be next. It's a good thing ramen didn't need to be refrigerated, but he'd need some way to heat the water and his apartment didn't have a fireplace… He released a loud sigh as he sprawled out on the dew soaked grass, holding the camera in front of his face yet again and focusing on the trees above.

Iruka had been calling more often lately. The good-intentioned man kept offering Naruto money, which the blond would of course turn down right away. How was he supposed to make it on his own if Iruka kept helping? Then Iruka would _subtly_ suggest Naruto should came back home until he got through financial troubles. To which Naruto would _politely_ retort that artists are always unappreciated and after he died his photos would probably sell for millions and hang in museums. Iruka would then _calmly_ point out that that was not putting food in Naruto's stomach now.

Needless to say, they would always end up in a fight. But Naruto had been having this argument with Iruka since the day the kind-hearted man had adopted him, so it was just their normal behavior. He appreciated that he had someone who cared enough to fuss over him so much, because for a long time no one had cared at all.

The lens focused in on a water droplet hanging from the edge of a leaf. Reflections of the forest and sun danced across the surface as it hung suspended, slowly preparing to fall. Naruto watched in aw, his camera already clicking before he even realized it. This was the beauty he wanted. The kind he saw every time he got away from city with its money troubles, social standards and mindless monotony of every day life. This was nature at it's most basic. Completely untouched.

"_I'M BRINGING SEXY BACK! Yeah!"_

"YAH!!" Naruto jumped a good three feet in the air, the camera slipping from his hands in his surprise. It was a good thing he had it strapped around his neck so it bounced harmlessly against his chest (not that his chest wasn't hard) instead of crashing to the ground.

He growled in irritation as he dug through his pocket and pulled out an orange covered cell phone. Whoever was calling had better be glad he hadn't dropped his new camera or there would have been bloodshed.

But when he saw just who was calling a smile cracked on his face, thoughts of bloodshed fled from his mind. He flipped open the phone. "Iruka-sensei!"

"Hi there, Naruto," Iruka greeted. He had long since resigned to the fact that even though he hadn't been Naruto's karate teacher since elementary school, he would forever be 'Iruka-sensei'. "How's your camping trip?"

"Really great! I got a ton of cool pictures! And the battery life on the camera isn't as bad as you though it would be, I've only had to change it twice the whole trip! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This thing is so awesome! I'll definitely be able to pay you back with the money I make off these!"

"Naruto, I already told you that camera was a graduation gift. You don't have to pay me back." Iruka sighed through the receiver.

"Don't bother trying to argue with me, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto laughed into his phone. "You know it's useless!"

Naruto heard Iruka mumble something about stubborn kids and snickered.

"I was calling to make sure you hadn't lost track of time out there and that you're still coming to dinner tonight," Iruka huffed.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember," Naruto said as he used his free hand to fiddle with the camera lens. "You've only been reminding me every day for the past week after all."

"Well you tend to lose yourself when you get out in the wilderness." Iruka replied. Naruto shrugged, making a sound of agreement in reply. "And please don't show up covered in dirt and leaves. You know I don't mind, but we're having guests tonight so please _please_ behave."

Naruto puffed his cheeks and snorted. "Quit nagging me! Yeesh! Should I stop by the mall and get my nails done before I come over too?" He asked sarcastically then added, "I'm not going to get all dressy for someone I don't even know."

Iruka took a deep breath, sobering his voice. "Listen Naruto, THE Tsunade Hime said she was interested in meeting you. She's president of one of the most well known and best selling magazines in the country. Would you PLEASE give this a chance? She's probably going to offer you a job, Naruto."

"Hmm..." Naruto glowered. "I wouldn't call her THE. Especially since_ I_ never heard of her until she started pestering me last month."

Yeah, this had all started a month ago when Naruto had started getting letters from some "Konoha Kara No Dansei". Since he thought the name was ridiculously long and he could hardly pronounce it, he threw them away without much thought. Until one day when Iruka was over visiting and saw one of the unopened letters in the trash can. Flabbergasted that such a prestigious magazine was contacting Naruto, and after much yelling and punching of Naruto's head, Iruka had immediately called the number in the letter and apologized to Tsunade Hime for being ignored for so long. It ended with plans for a dinner date at Iruka's house so that Tsunade and Naruto could finally meet.

The whole thing left a bad taste in Naruto's mouth.

First of all, he wasn't a child. He could set up his own freaking job interview. Secondly, he wasn't a total moron. He subscribed to a lot of magazines. He was a photographer after all. So what if the existence of this one never came up? Lastly, why were they so damn persistent anyway?

He should have been ecstatic, really. But he couldn't get over the feeling that there was some kind of catch. The president of such a supposedly successful magazine wanted to hire him? And they were bothered enough to seek him out like this?

"Naruto." Iruka said in warning.

"Hey, I already said I would meet her! Don't have a cow. This Tsunade Hime seems pretty intent on meeting me after all," Naruto said as swiped some water droplets from his jacket, turning to walk towards his camp. "I promise I'll be nice."

"You'd better," Iruka grumbled before taking on a softer tone. "You know I do it because I love you, right?"

Naruto's lips cured into a bright, genuine smile. "I love you too." And even though Naruto couldn't see it, he knew Iruka well enough to picture the sweet, nurturing smile his former teacher was sporting at that moment. "Seeya, Iruka-sensei. I gotta go if I want enough time to drive back to the city and get ready. Unless of course, I skip my shower…" He said with a thinly veiled chuckle in his voice. "The rivers up here really do the trick on my pores you know."

"Don't even think about it. Get back here. Now."

"Yes Sir," Naruto saluted, still laughing. "_Mother_." And he hung up before Iruka could say another word, another round of laugher shaking his body as he trotted back towards his campsite to pack up his car.

He didn't even realize that someone was listening.

In a van parked 16 meters away on the edge of a rural road, two men had been listening very intently to the blond's conversation. "Kisame…" A low, soothing voice spoke, catching his partner's attention. The voice's owner held one earphone of the headset close to his right ear, his long back hair tied back so it would be out of the way.

"I know. I heard it too," the other man answered, adjusting the dials on their radio transmitter as Naruto walked into another area of the forest. As a different radio transmitter came online they heard the blond humming cheerfully and occasionally singing something along the lines of "Ranmen! Ramen! Good for you! Just like stew!"

Kisame turned his beady eyes to his partner, pointed teeth flashing in an almost wicked smile, "Looks like our suspensions were correct. Guess you won't be getting your brother back anytime soon. Eh, Itachi?"

Itachi gave no response, concentrating instead on the sound of Naruto cursing as he took down his stubborn tent.

-:-

Pulling up in Iruka's driveway that evening, Naruto checked the rear view mirror for any flaws in his appearance. He grinned, checking his teeth as well. Finding no problems (and taking a moment to admire his own Adonis-like features, and yes, Naruto thought he was a pretty good looking guy) he stepped out of his car and made his way up the stone pathway.

"Naruto!" Iruka startled the blond by slamming open the front door before Naruto could even consider ringing the doorbell. "Get in here! Tsunade Hime will be here any minute! Her secretary just called and they just got off the highway!"

He dragged the young man inside and forcibly pushed him down on a couch. Naruto immediately knew that Iruka had cleaned the whole house. His usual ass groove was all messed up.

"Geez, Iruka-sensei! Is this a job interview for me or a date for you?" Naruto asked, waggling his eyebrows as an afterthought.

Iruka's forehead twitched in irritation. Naruto mentally patted himself on the back.

"Don't be a smartass." Iruka glowered before dashing back to the kitchen to finish preparing their meal. Which smelled like meatloaf, the blond decided. Probably with mashed potatoes and peas for side dishes.

Naruto let out a sigh as he leaned back into the couch, deciding to pass the time by reforming his ass groove.

_Ding-dong!_

Fuck, that didn't take long.

"Answer the door!!" Iruka shouted from the kitchen, occupied with the hot tray of meatloaf.

"Already on it!" The blond answered, rolling his eyes as he walked towards the front door.

For the first time since this whole ordeal started, Naruto found himself slightly nervous. Was all this really just to offer a job? Maybe his photos were just that awesome. Naruto puffed out his chest, easily bushing his nervousness aside. Yeah, he was sure that was it. He was the great Naruto Uzumaki after all!

With that thought securely in mind, Naruto opened the door… only to come face to face with the largest pair of breasts he had ever seen. He very nearly jerked back.

"Aaa, so you're the brat who's been ignoring my letters." The large breasted woman said, drawing Naruto's attention to her face. Only then did he notice there was a second woman there as well, holding… was that a pig?

"Er…" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Tsunade Hime?"

The pastel blonde woman with big boobs smirked, "And you're Naruto Uzumaki. You graduated from the Yagen Institute of Photography three weeks ago."

"Er…"

"Your father invited me, did he not?" She asked, placing a hand on her hip. "It's rude to leave your guests standing in the doorway."

"R- Right, sorry." Naruto stood aside and allowed the busty woman and her brunette companion to pass. With the pig. Despite her appearance, Naruto could tell Tsunade was an older woman, too old for Iruka even. And… those things had to be implants, right? And… had that old hag just called him a brat?!!

Naruto fumed as he followed them into the living room.

"Tsunade Hime!" Iruka rushed forward and grabbed her hand, shaking it vigorously. "Welcome to our home! Our meal is on the table any time you're ready. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to come so far." He placed a hand on his son's shoulder, "You've met Naruto already, I see! He really is a talented boy. He's always had an artistic mind, ever since he was young."

Naruto grumbled. Did painting profanities on the walls in an orphanage really count as art?

"Well that's just what I'm counting on, isn't it? But you can address me as Tsunade. Only the tabloids call me Hime. I'm the president of a fashion magazine, not the prime minister," Tsunade waved a hand to dispel the name, though she looked very pleased with herself at the same time.

"_FASHION _MAGAZINE?!!" Naruto shouted incredulously, the words slipping from his mouth before he could stop them, not that he would have.

"Naruto!" Iruka gave the blond a warning look.

"This is my secretary, Shizune, and Tonton." Tsunade indicated the brown haired woman and pig respectively, completely ignoring the blond's outburst. Naruto clenched his fists as he developed a tick in his right eye.

"Ah, I've heard of you too, Shizune," Iruka addressed the brunette. "Your company has had the top selling clothing line since the year you got Tonton. Pigs are a symbol for good luck, right?"

Shizune nodded, blushing slightly. The little pink pig in her arms sniffed the air. "Yeah, it was an impulse buy at the time. Are you a fan of Tsunade's work, Mr. Umino?"

"Ah… well the clothing's not really my style." He rubbed the back of his head, smiling nervously.

"Well the designs are more for the younger sect." Shizune said, stroking behind Tonton's ears.

Meanwhile Tsunade had walked over to look at the pictures on the wall. Most of the photo's featured Naruto as either a child or teenager, grinning like a moron, along with pictures of Iruka and Naruto together. Others were Naruto's own photos, which ranged from mountains at sunset to a clown balancing on a unicycle. (Naruto had seen him on a boardwalk at the beach once.)

Naruto glared at the older woman. Fashion magazine?! What the Hell?!! If he had known that he never would have agreed to this! There was no way he was doing advertisements for their stupid snooty clothing line. Uh-uh! Naruto Uzumaki took pictures to capture beautiful moments in time, not sell corporate mush!

"No baby pictures." Tsunade spoke softly, holding a hand to her chin and gazing at the pictures as if trying to analyze them.

Naruto snapped. "What the hell does that matter?!!" This woman's attitude was pissing him off.

A vein popped on the busty blonde's forehead but she remained composed. "Different last names too," She looked back at the fuming young man. Iruka and Shizune watched with apprehension. "Tell me, are you adopted, Naruto?"

Naruto stared before narrowing his eyes. What? Was it 'uncouth' to be raised by a family that wasn't the Cleavers? "Yeah."

"Mmmhn." Tsunade made a sound of approval, a small smile spread across her lips. Naruto blinked. What… what kind of reaction was that?

Tsunade clapped her hands together. "So how about dinner then?"

Iruka perked up, knocked out of the stupor brought on by watching the two blondes. "Oh! Of course, the dinning room is right through here." He led the way into the other room.

Naruto was the last to follow, question marks dancing around in his head. He had never felt so utterly lost. Why didn't Tsunade just tell them why she was here, already?!! Dammit! The only thing that had kept him from demanding answers was his promise to Iruka to be nice. But if she kept that shrewd attitude up he was going to crack. What right did she have, anyway? This was their house, dammit! Well… Naruto didn't live here anymore, but he had grown up here so it still counted! He didn't like being left in the dark.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Eerily quiet. The kind of quiet that forced Iruka and Shizune into silence as they watched to see which of their charges would crack first. Naruto and Tsunade sat across from each other, Naruto occasionally glaring while Tsunade stayed stubbornly silent. The obvious tension multiplied when Naruto started stabbing his peas, at which point Tsunade gave him a challenging gaze. Tsunade was never this quiet, so Shizune was rather frightened.

"Miss…Miss Tsunade," Shizune broke the silence, flinching when both blondes' stony glares turned to her. "Per… perhaps we should… get down to business… now?" Iruka nodded in agreement.

"That is an _excellent_ suggestion, Shizune," Tsunade said in an almost sarcastic tone. "And I would have much sooner. Had I not thought opening my mouth would result in my tongue to getting ripped from my mouth." She cast a meaningful glare at the young man sitting across from her, her brow twitching in suppressed anger.

"Hey, Lady! If you have a problem with me just say so!" Naruto snapped up, pointing an accusing finger at the busty woman. By now he was past the point of caring if he got this supposed 'job' or not. Not that he would know, she hadn't told him a damn thing!! "Who do you think you are?! Waltzing into our home like you own the place, without even explaining yourself!"

Tsunade stood, fire raging behind her eyes. "You've got some nerve, brat! Do you treat all your guests this way?!"

"Only the ones who call me a brat!!" Naruto shouted. "Now cut the crap and tell me why you're here! Since you're _so_ famous and busy, you obviously came this far from the city for a reason! What do you want?!!"

"Miss Tsunade! Remember you promised to be nice!" Shizune reminded her boss, who had been raising a shaky fist.

Tsunade took a deep breath, taking her seat again as she attempted to cool her raging temper. Had this not been a special situation she probably would have beaten the crap out of the brat already.

Naruto remained standing, glaring as Tsunade folded her hands and set her chin on them. "WELL?!"

The elder woman looked up, her strong gaze piercing into Naruto's skin, making him falter. He shifted as he started to feel uncomfortable. Like he was under a microscope. When she spoke he was caught off guard.

For what felt like a very long time his breath caught in his throat and the blood in his veins stilled as his heart refused to pump.

"What did you say?!"

"I knew your parents," was the immediate reply. Tsunade continued to gaze at him, gauging his reaction. Except… Naruto didn't know how to react.

"Huh?"

Tsunade folded her arms, giving the blond boy an annoyed look. "I can keep this up all night, kid. I. Knew. Your. Parents."

Naruto blinked. "They're dead."

Tsunade's aura immediately turned somber and her gaze drifted to the floor. "I know."

Silence followed. Iruka was stunned, casting his adopted son a concerned look. Shizune had her eyebrows lowered as worry crept onto her face. Tsunade continued to look at Naruto with an expectant gaze.

Naruto didn't know what to say. Truthfully he hadn't given his parents much thought since he became a teenager. When he had been a kid he had pined for them so much, especially before he had met Iruka. But that felt like such a long time ago… and now… so suddenly…

"Naruto?"

A hand placed on his shoulder caused Naruto to flinch in surprise. He whirled his head around to face his very concerned adopted father. Naruto hadn't even noticed him get out of his seat.

"Are you okay?" Iruka asked, rubbing Naruto's shoulder reassuringly.

Okay? Was he okay?

"I… I'm fine Iruka-sensei! Why wouldn't I be?!" He asked in voice much more squeaky than he intended. He could feel the stares of the two women on him, but he didn't want to look at them.

"I'm… just thirsty! I'm all out of soda…" Naruto fumbled with his glass, finally grasping it and making a hasty retreat to the kitchen.

He placed the glass in the sink. Then marched to the refrigerator, opened it, stared blankly inside for a moment before closing it again. He tapped his hands on the counter, purposefully opened the washing machine to look inside, closed it also, and wiped his hands on his pants.

He was trying to ignore the fact that he was breathing rather heavily.

Suddenly Naruto ran to the cupboard and pulled down a pack of ramen, grabbed a pot (knocking another pot to the floor as he did so, but he just ignored it) and turned on the faucet. Ramen, that's what he needed! As he was putting the pot under the water he heard the door to the kitchen swing open.

"I'm fine." Naruto whimpered, opening the ramen pack and sending little pieces of dry noodle flying.

"Then you're doing a very good impression of 'not fine'."

Naruto whipped around to face Tsunade, standing just inside the doorway with a frown on her deceptively young face. He had thought it was Iruka coming in. Quickly turning back to his ramen, he grabbed the pot and strode to the stove, turning on the burner and throwing the noodles in.

"You ran out of there so fast I thought you were going to break the space-time continuum." Naruto heard her approach and stop on his left side. Damn, the water wasn't boiling fast enough.

"Oh, I get it. You're the type who doesn't like to show weakness. Especially to strangers. Fine. I can respect that," Tsunade continued, her voice strong and purposeful, "But I should warn you, I'm famous for my short fuse and I have no patience for the silent treatment."

Naruto turned fully towards the busty woman, only to see a smirk on her face. Naruto pouted, his eyebrow quirked. "You want me to throw you a parade?"

"No, but when I found the long lost son of one of my closest friends, I was expecting a little different reaction than 'I'm out of soda'," she responded, Naruto immediately recognizing the teasing quality to her voice.

Naruto snorted, unable to keep the corner of his mouth from tipping upward, "So you came to visit because you want to be best pals?"

"I came because I cared about your mother and father. And they cared about you," she said seriously.

"I… I wouldn't know," He grabbed a ladle from the decorative holding cup next to the stove and stirred the softening noodles.

Tsunade was silent for a moment, drumming her fingers on the counter. "The circumstances at your birth were complicated," She ventured, watching the blond carefully, "There were…"

"LOOK!" Naruto rounded on the woman, his eyes blazing. "What's the point of all this?! Because I don't see it!! Where were you fifteen years ago when I was all alone in the orphanage, huh?! It's too late now! I'm all grown up! I have a life and friends and a great Dad! THIS is my life! So don't come busting into it and tell me all about what might have been!! It doesn't matter now!!"

Naruto stopped and breathed heavily, his glare daring the magazine president to challenge him. He didn't want to know.

He didn't want to know about what he couldn't have.

Tsunade glared, obviously irritated with Naruto's response. Good! He was irritated too!

"Alright," she strained, making an obvious effort not to grind her teeth. "If that's what you want I'll leave and never bother you again. And you'll have moronically let your only chance to know about your parents slip through your fingers, but hey, it's your choice."

Naruto yanked a bowl out of the dishwasher, slamming it shut again. Dammit, she was right. "I'm just… wigging out here!!! I mean… you really knew my parents?" He turned to her, completely forgetting the ramen.

Tsunade's smile fell back into place. "Yes. Your father was a colleague of mine before he died. President of the company, actually. He's the one who made Konoha Kara No Dansei the success it is today."

"The fashion magazine…?" he asked with an edge in his voice.

"You really hate fashion that much?"

"Hm, big corporations, selling ridiculously overpriced clothes to kids who become social outcasts if they aren't wearing them, thereby widening the gap between rich and poor. All the while lowering their self-esteem. Yeah, I'd say I'm not a big fan."

Surprising enough, Tsunade's chuckled. "Don't confuse us with Banana Republic. Our clothing line tends to be more for… show. Instead of for sale."

Naruto stared back, utterly confused. "What does that mean?"

"I'm the top designer, but very few of our fashions make it to the rack. The clothes are created specifically for our models and to appear in our magazine. It's the magazine that we sell."

Naruto blinked. "So… if you're not selling clothes, then the magazine is just… a picture book?"

Tsunade brought her fist down on his head. "Idiot! It's the models that sell!"

As he was rubbing his abused head, it suddenly clicked.

"You're like Playboy!!!" Naruto jumped back, pointing an accusing finger at Tsunade. He should have guessed! Someone with breasts that large had to work in something dirty!

Tsunade's mouth fell open. "There is NOTHING lude in our magazine! It's VERY tasteful I'll have you know!!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Listen, you brat-" she growled in warning, raising her fist.

He stepped back, not wanting to incur her wrath again. Also, Iruka probably wouldn't have invited her if she had been president of a porn magazine. "Alright! I'll believe you!"

"Good, because I'm offering you a job as our photographer."

Naruto fell into silence, staring at the smirking woman. Oh… yeah, job. He'd already completely forgotten about that.

"That's how I found you actually," she continued, "A few weeks ago I started my search for a young photographer. I was checking the recent graduates from photography schools when I saw your last name. Since your name is so unique, and your work showed a high level of talent, I decided to contact you." Her eyes softened slightly, "I was sure you were Minato's son the moment you opened the door. You look exactly like him."

"Oh." Naruto fidgeted, trying not to appear too pleased that he looked like his dad. But he suddenly felt much lighter.

"You'd be covering our major stories and creating a portfolio of fashions used in each issue. The pay is respectable. Our office is centered in Manhattan." She pulled out a business card and offered it to him, "Think on it and let me know soon. That's not a suggestion."

Naruto gazed at the card as if he had never seen one before, then slowly he took it. It contained a phone number and address in embossed letters, overlain on a picture of a tall building next to a park.

With one last smile, Tsunade turned and strolled out of the kitchen. "Let's go Shizune, we're done here," was heard from the dining room.

Naruto continued to stare at the card and what he could only assume was a picture of the place his father had worked at every day for years. He wondered which office used to belong to him. He might be staring at it right now. Hopefully it was one facing the park. That would have been nice.

Shaking his head, Naruto pocketed the card and turned back to the stove. He switched off the burner and poured the noodles into his bowl, adding the seasoning soon after.

No, he couldn't push aside his whole life and move to New York just so he could work in the same building as his father. That was just… stupid…. Maybe.

He had known his parents were dead, the orphanage had told him that much, so he hadn't dreamed of magically finding them (much)… he hadn't lingered on it, anyway. And because he had never known them couldn't really miss them (more than was normal)… That was how Naruto had convinced himself to move on when he was a kid. Dreaming about them and wondering what kind of people they were… it wouldn't do anyone any good. And it hurt too much.

As Naruto was taking a seat at the small kitchen table, Iruka hesitantly opened the door. "Naruto?" He ventured inside and took the seat next to his adopted son. "Are you alright?"

Naruto stirred his ramen around. "Not sure. I think I'm okay. Just… I kinda got thrown for a loop there."

"No one's blaming you. You weren't prepared and it's a sensitive subject. But this is good news, right? Your parents were good people, and they loved you. Not every kid put up for adoption can say that. And you have a chance to learn more about them. I'm glad."

"Iruka-sensei…" Naruto turned to older man, but couldn't look him in the eye. "I can't. It would be like selling out to work for some high-end magazine like that. And I like wilderness, not the big city."

"I swear to God Naruto, if you don't come up with a better excuse, I'm going to run your car off a cliff." Uh-oh, Iruka sounded serious.

Naruto drummed his fingers on the table, still refusing to look Iruka in the eyes. This time he spoke much more softly. "If I went to New York, and left you here, would you be sad? It would be like I was replacing you."

"Naruto, if you turn down this job, I do not want it to be on my account," Iruka said sternly.

"I know, but…"

"I also lost my parents at a young age," Iruka smiled sadly. "And I will personally kill you if you don't take this opportunity to learn about yours."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. "I'll think about it." A warm smile spread across his face.

-:-

On the drive home Naruto tried to clear his mind, willing himself to forget his sudden dilemma until tomorrow morning when his mind would be clearer. But strange little things kept running across his brain, like "I wonder if mom was a blonde or brunette" Or "I wonder if dad got the weekends off from the company, surely he had Sunday at least".Or "Did they live in an apartment or a house? They would have to live outside Manhattan for a house. The traffic must have been murder."

"Gah!" Naruto nearly banged his head against the steering wheel as he stopped for a red light. This was insane!! He doesn't give his parents two thoughts for all these years and suddenly, he can't think of anything else!!

Naruto sighed. Maybe he had wanted to know about them all along but didn't let himself think about it because there was no way of finding out. Now it's his chance to know…

Could he really leave his current life behind? He pondered as he sped through the intersection. Moving to New York would be a big change. Then again, trying new things was good too…

He hadn't had a lot of contact with his friends since graduation after all. And Iruka wanted him to go. The pay would be good. He wouldn't have to worry about living in darkness anymore. And… he really did want to know about his parents.

But he would be photographing _models_. Snooty, overpaid, 'I'm so much hotter and better than you' _models_.

To Naruto, photography was about capturing what is important and innately beautiful in the world so you could be reminded of those special moments. He didn't want to photograph someone who was just concerned with looking hot! It tainted the whole concept!! But… Dammit!! He wanted to know how his parents lived their lives!! Where they lived, worked, ate, spent their free time, and what it all meant to them!!

Tsunade knew them. She knew what kind of people they where when they were alive. How they spent their days and what their values were… if they were the type of people who would have loved him, had they had the chance.

"Minato…" Naruto repeated the name that Tsuande had called his father. The former president of Konoha Kara No Dansei, the man who made that magazine what it was today. Whatever it was today…

It couldn't hurt to take a look.


	2. Chapter 2

**Konoha Kara No Dansei**

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Warnings:** lots of cursing, ooc Neji, some people like ooc Itachi, I like ooc Neji ;) and Sai 

Heh, exactly one month later… chapter two! Sorry it took so long. I hate this chapter. I wrote nearly the whole thing; decided it sucked and started over again. It's now betaed.

If anyone wants to know what I'm up to between updates, please visit my livejournal page :D The link is in my profile and I usually post there once a week at least, it's all stuff regarding my fanfic writing or other fangirling.

Oh, and please review if you like it! Makes me write faster.

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Naruto stared at the building before him, the worries that had been rolling around in his head suddenly seeming to drop down to his stomach. Unlike most of the skyscrapers in Manhattan, which were bunched together, this one was out in the open, seated next to a small park. It looked just like it did on the business card. 

All around him the sound of thousands of footsteps and the honking of car horns were blazing. There was also construction going on somewhere in the distance. The smell of exhaust from the streets and pollen from the park intermingled in a most curious way, making Naruto's nose wrinkle.

It had been nearly a week since Tsunade had come to dinner and during that time Naruto had changed his mind about taking the job roughly five million times. He wasn't sure what he wanted anymore. One minute he would be on the phone waiting for Tsunade's secretary to pick up, the next he would slam it down and swear to never step foot in New York. Then he would start pulling out his hair and sulking around his apartment.

Naruto hated that he was being so uncharacteristically indecisive. Usually, he would make an immediate decision and run headlong into it, beating it with a stick until it worked.

Normally, he would have turned down the job immediately. Yet, somehow, here he was…

Without any previous planning (or thinking) on his part, Naruto had found himself speeding along the highway at a ridiculously early hour in the morning after a night of restless sleep, intent on chewing Tsunade out for making his life come to a screeching halt.

So one state and two hours later, Naruto came to be standing outside in the parking lot of the Konoha building. Wearing nothing but black sweat pants, sneakers with no socks and a zipped-up orange jacket. He had forgotten to pull on a shirt in his fit of righteous fury and since his fervor had now had over two hours to cool, he was debating whether or not to march up into Tsunade's office and demand his baby pictures or whatever.

He checked his watch.

7:23. Yep, he was officially insane. No one was even fucking here yet. The building was dark.

Naruto leaned back against his orange Jeep, resting a forearm over his eyes to block out the early morning sun and let out a loud groan.

Why did he even come up here? Calling would have been the best thing to do. Saves time and gas. But then again, nothing was quite as effective as yelling at someone face to face. On the phone they can just hang up. Although yelling might not be the best thing… Shit! Why did he have to be in this situation?! What if Tsunade withheld information if he didn't take the job? That _bitch_!

Naruto move his arm up two inches so he could glare at the tall building as if it had offended him. The damn thing was mocking him! He just knew it! Well fine, he would take over the company, fire the snooty models, move headquarters to the Rockies and make it into a bass fishing magazine!!!

… Maybe he needed some coffee.

Morals Vs. Sentimentality. He could either walk away with his honor, or go in their and find out the truth. There was no easy way out. He just had to make a decision and stick with it.

"GAHHH! Why does this have to be so damn difficult?!!" he shouted, pulling at his hair in frustration.

Just then he heard someone nearby shouting an impressive variety of profanities, even by Naruto's standards.

He took two steps and peered around the back of his car to where the shouting was coming from. There was a guy several parking spaces over who was attempting to carry three cardboard boxes while holding the leash of a large scruffy dog.

"Fuck! NO! Bad! Bad Akamaru! Don't hump the nice man!! God dammit!!"

The young man was trying to restrain the pooch without spilling all the papers in his boxes. It didn't help that the leash was wrapped around his legs twice and he was being pulled towards a passing businessman on the sidewalk who looked very concerned for his own safety.

Heh. Naruto really wished he had brought his camera now. This was just way too amusing. Maybe he could get a decent shot with his cell phone…

"NO! STOP!! Akamaru!! I'm warning you! Fuck!! Just give him the damn bagel, dude! That's what he wants!! SHIT!!"

As Akamaru gained another foot one of the boxes fell from the boy's grasp, scattering papers across the pavement. When another string of curse words filled the air Naruto decided it was time to lend a hand.

He ran forward and caught the dog's collar, giving a hefty tug to keep the large animal from moving forward. "Whoa, boy!"

The force needed to stop Akamaru caused the dog to rear up on his hind legs, held at the collar by Naruto. Then in a feat of impressive agility, Akamaru whirled around, placed both paws over Naruto's shoulders and enthusiastically began slobbering all over the blond's face. "AGGH!" Fuck! Gross! And this dog was as tall as he was!

Somewhere in midst of this the businessman and his bagel escaped. Lucky bastard.

"Down!! Get off of him you stupid mutt!" The brown haired boy shouted, nearly dropping another box in his anger. Funny, there were fang shaped tattoos on his cheeks. They looked pretty funky when matched with the business suit he was wearing. Thought the jacket was missing, the sleeves were rolled to the elbow and the tie was hanging loosely around his neck.

"It's okay, I got him." Naruto managed to push the dog back slightly. But its hot disgusting breath was still puffing in his face. UGH!!

"Really?!! Oh, man, thanks a million! I owe you one!" The dog boy (Naruto decided the dog's owner looked like a dog himself) was finally able to untangle himself from the leash winding around and between his legs by stepping over it and twisting around twice.

"This big lug gets overly friendly sometimes and then he stole my espresso this morning so he's kinda… Anyway! I'm Kiba!"

He shifted the two boxes into one arm, the top one leaning against the side of his head so it wouldn't fall, and extended his free hand. Naruto grinned, pushing Akamaru down so he could shake hands with the boy.

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki!"

"You a tourist?"

Naruto blinked, giving the dog boy an incredulous look. "Eh?"

Kiba chuckled. "Sorry. Didn't mean anything by it. It's just that New Yorkers aren't usually this friendly. I could have been a mugger or something you know! I'm not, but I could have been. You probably shouldn't be so naive if you're spending any time in this city. Do you mind holding Akamaru's leash for a minute?"

Naruto gave Kiba an miffed look but took the leash anyway. Akamaru immediately began wiggling between and around the blond's legs, wagging tail beating against his shins. Kiba set his boxes down on the pavement and began gathering the scattered papers.

"I'm not a tourist! I mean, I'm not really from around here, but I'm not on vacation either. I'm from Long Beach, that's only two hours away!"

"So you're a New Jersey boy, huh?" Kiba asked with amusement, still searching through the papers. He seemed to be stacking them in a specific order. "I was born in Queens so I know all there is to know about living in the Big Apple. But my Mom's a southern bell and she's always complained about how rude New Yorkers are, so that kind of left an impression on me. You'll find I'm much more polite than your average New Yorker."

Kiba patted his chest proudly, looking back at Naruto. Kiba sure liked to talk. But then again, most everyone who met Naruto called him a blabbermouth. "You're lucky you ran into me! What can I do you for, Jersey Boy?"

"I don't really need anything. Besides you look busy, and I'm waiting for this building to open up." Naruto waved a hand at the skyscraper.

Kiba blinked. "Damn, then you really are lucky. I work here."

"YOU WORK HERE?!" Naruto shouted in surprise and revulsion. And Kiba seemed like such a nice guy!!! …Oh wait; his Dad had worked here too…

Kiba snickered, apparently mistaking Naruto's outburst for admiration. "Yep! In fact, I'm the editor!"

Akamaru barked as if to confirm the statement, letting his tongue hang out the side of his mouth.

"Aa…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a nervous grin. "It's just, uh… I've been waiting for someone to show up…"

"Well you're in luck, because it's my job to open up in the morning!" Kiba pulled a ring of keys from his pocket, jiggling them in the air with a sly grin on his face. "I can give you tour if you want. As a favor for helping me out."

"EH?!! Right now?!! Naruto started.

"Oh! You're waiting for someone?" Kiba asked, lowering the keys.

"No, no! It's just… uh…" Naruto glanced at the Konoha building again before shaking his head and clenching his fists.

Damn it!!! He was making this a much bigger deal that it needed to be. It's just a building. He was not going to chicken out! Not now that he actually had a way in. Naruto Uzumaki doesn't get intimidated.

"Actually, that would be really great!!" He shouted with renewed confidence, holding up his fists in challenge. If Kiba thought this behavior was weird he didn't show it.

"Cool!" The dog-boy exclaimed. "So what are you here for anyway? I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

Naruto flinched. He seriously didn't want to go into the whole parent thing. And saying he was here for a job catering to stuck-up models would be embarrassing. He desperately glanced around for inspiration, but when he found nothing he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm just fan!" Naruto shouted, his voice cracking. Damn, he was no good at lying.

Kiba's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "You are?!"

Naruto glanced away, his brow twitching in disgust. What had he been thinking?!! "Something like that," he grumbled.

Kiba snorted loudly, trying to hold back a laugh that got out anyway. Naruto glared.

"Hey, it doesn't matter to me! Whatever floats your boat, man!" The dog boy continued to snicker as he placed the last of the papers into his box. Balancing the three boxes as steadily as he could, Kiba turned back to Naruto with a toothy grin, "Shall we?" he laughed before walking towards the building.

Naruto puffed his cheeks in annoyance as he followed the tattooed boy across the parking lot. Why was he the one being made fun of? He didn't really like the magazine (not that he had ever read an issue), but so what if he did? This guy _worked_ there! Shouldn't that count for anything?

Akamaru jumped the two steps onto the open area under the building's overhang, eager to stay beside his owner. Naruto took in the flowers and shrub like trees that were planted around the perimeter as well as in a small circular plot in the middle of the entranceway. He supposed this was a rather spacious area for people to come outside and smoke. Ick.

Through the glass doors of the building Naruto could see the waiting desk and several couches lined up inside.

Kiba was attempting to single handedly turn the key in the lock located on the wall next to the rotating doors, his tongue sticking out and his brows furrowed in concentration as the top box swung dangerously from side to side.

Okay, Naruto couldn't stand it anymore. Kiba was still chuckling under his breath. Naruto folded his arms to steady his resolve. The truth was less embarrassing than the lie after all and he was a sucky liar in the first place.

"Actually I'm not a fan at all. I'm here about a job."

"Huh?" Kiba turned away from his task to give Naruto a questioning look, but just as quickly understanding flickered across his face and his mouth dropped open. "OH! You're the new photographer!"

"I… I guess…"

Kiba startled Naruto by barked out another round of laughter. "I shoulda known! Tsunade's been going on about you non-stop! HAHA!! Oh man! That's priceless!! And here I thought you were just a 'fan' of our male models!! Hahaha!!"

Naruto's eye twitched. "What the hell??! That was your own misunderstanding, dog breath! Do I look like a fangirling fruitcake to you?!! If you thought I was a crazy stalker then why were you letting me in?!"

Kiba shrugged. "To annoy Neji and Sasuke mostly. Do you think you could at least pretend to be a crazed fan when you meet them? I got myself all worked up for a show."

"Then you'll just have to deal!!" Naruto exploded, his short fuse going the way it usually did. "Yeesh!! Why do you automatically assume I'm interested in the boys?!"

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Dumbass, Konoha only features male models. Japanese male models. You're the one who said you were a fan-" he was cut off by Naruto's sudden exclamation.

"EEEHHHH?!!"

Kiba twisted his pinky around in his ear to regain some of his hearing. "Shouldn't you know something about the place you're going to work at? That's what 'Konoha Kara No Dansei' means, stupid. It's Japanese for 'Males From Konoha'. Konoha is the building's name, and it was named after the park."

Naruto blinked, not sure what to make of this new information. On one hand at least the magazine wasn't making little girls feel bad about their weight. On the other, he wouldn't be photographing any hot girls!! …Not that he had thought about that…

"HA!" Kiba shouted in triumph as the lock clicked. He pushed his hip against the rotating door, circling around until he was inside. Naruto came after, with Akamaru leaving trails of drool on the glass door.

It looked even larger on the inside.

Naruto gaped, staring up at the huge expanse above him. The way the building was designed he could look up and see right up at the ceiling, the steel beams were almost invisible at that height. Trees from Konoha Park could be seen outside with the taller skyscrapers in the distance above them. Naruto turned his attention forward, seeing each individual floor above rising up behind the front desk. He realized that no matter what floor he was on he would be able to look over and see down into waiting area he was now standing in. But most impressive of all were the long curtains hanging suspended from ceiling, an artistic flare. The impressive cloths stretched at least twenty floors.

A few moments after they entered Kiba opened the fuse box and turned on the overhead lights, bathing the grey room with bright red couches and pearly blue floor tiles in the soft light. On the walls hung enlarged framed covers of previous issues of Konoha Kara No Dansei from the past year, each featuring a different Asian boy, all of whom were far too pretty for their own good.

Naruto scrunched his face and then he shook his head to dislodge that last thought. Let's not dwell on _that_ too long.

Ooh! There are snack machines along that wall!

Kiba led the way, turning on elevator and hall lights as he went.

The Konoha Building had forty floors and a basement. It housed a cafeteria, gym, offices, a printing room, a meditation room, a records room, a whole _floor_ devoted to the model's wardrobe, and numerous storage rooms filled with unused photography equipment. Equipment that made Naruto drool more than Akamaru. There were camera stands, backdrops, props, and dozens of spotlights, camera bags, the little umbrellas that helped reflect light; even a plastic camera covering so you could photograph underwater!

Fuck working! Naruto wanted to live here!

He was having the insane urge rub one of the walls affectionately and apologize for threatening to turn it into a bass fishing magazine. The poor Konoha Building didn't deserve that. It wasn't its fault it was chosen to make a snooty magazine in.

Throughout the tour, Naruto couldn't help but wonder how much of this was part of his father's design, and how much Tsunade had added after he was gone.

"Here we go!" Kiba opened a door on the thirty-fourth floor, bumping in recklessly and laying the boxes on an already cluttered table. "This is my haven! Here I am god!"

Naruto looked around, taking in the old pizza boxes and cluttered papers. There was a board where all manner of flyers and documents were tacked up. Sitting around the walls were computers with pictures to decorate that person's workstation.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the dog boy.

"Hey! I know it doesn't look like much, but this is where the magic happens! I work best in organized chaos!"

The blond photographer laughed loudly. "That seems to be your life's principal, huh? So I bequeath you, god of the editing room, what should I do with your little buddy here?" Naruto held up the end of the leash, shaking it from side to side.

"Just let him off, he'll be fine," Kiba waved a hand, unconcerned.

Naruto snorted. "Like how he was fine in the parking lot? They really allow pets in here?"

Kiba shrugged. "Tsunade can't complain because she has that pig around all the time. And it's fine if he humps people at work because I know them, and therefore want revenge for all the wrongs they've done me," Kiba explained matter-of-factly, snickering the whole time.

Naruto decided that he and Kiba were going to get along just fine.

The next half hour or so was spent with Kiba showing Naruto the articles he and his subordinates had been working on (that was what had filled the boxes). Kiba kept them at his house so he could revise them at night when he got a burst of inspiration. But since a deadline was coming up he needed to bring them all in. Naruto's favorite was the letters to the editor page, where Kiba would chew out people who asked stupid questions. Apparently it was an ongoing joke where people would send in stupid questions and expect stupid answers.

"Dear Mr. Kiba, _heh heh_, Do you know of anyone or anyplace or any books that I can dig into, to do research on HOW TO MAKE FUNNY FACES in real life?? I am doing research for a boss who wants to learn how to do weird facial contortions!"

Naruto and Kiba broke into another fit of laughter, already drunk on their own mirth from reading all the weird letters before this one. The previously organized boxes were now strewn across the table and floor, as Kiba had turned them over in his search of his funniest material.

The sound of the door opening didn't deter their laughter one bit. Nor did the arrival of another young officer worker. In fact the exasperated expression on the boy's face just made them laugh even harder.

A young man with short dark hair and a pressed business suit entered the room. He was wearing dark, round sunglasses, but Naruto imagined his eyes were narrowed in annoyance. "Do I even want to know?"

"Shino!" Kiba grabbed Naruto by the collar and pulled him out of his chair, presenting him to the other man. "This is our new photographer, Naruto Uzumaki! He's awesome. I've already got him thinking I'm great, so don't even try scaring him away with your creepiness."

"Yo!" Naruto waved a hand at the supposedly creepy boy, a snickering grin on his face.

"So you're the one Tsunade picked out." Shino folded his arms, giving the blond a scrutinizing once over, as if Kiba's approval was a sign to be worried.

"Despite what Mr. Inuzuka may have been bragging about, and I'm sure he has, he's only the copy editor. I am the art and layout editor and therefore, your boss Mr. Uzumaki. That is, should I choose to hire you."

Naruto blinked. "Erm…"

"Shino! What did I _just_ tell you?!!" Kiba growled, pushing Naruto aside and taking a threatening step towards the other editor. "What's with all the serious businessman crap?! You do realize you work at a magazine that's main purpose is making teenage girls squeal, right?"

"Don't you have some articles to finish?" Shino asked, his monotone voice carrying an evident tone of irritation.

Kiba grumbled, turning to a pile of papers that had fallen to the floor and gathering them up. "Yeah, yeah. I'm doing it. Just don't be a prick."

Naruto looked from his new friend to his new boss, smiling nervously. He wasn't even sure he wanted this job in the first place, but he didn't want the option closed to him either. Not only because his Dad had worked here, but also because meeting Kiba made him feel more relaxed about the whole thing. Turns out not everyone who worked here was an uptight fashion guru after all. If Kiba could get along well in a place like this then Naruto was sure he could too. Now if only he didn't have to photograph models…

"Come on, I'll take you to Tsunade." Shino spoke as he turned and strode out of the room.

Naruto was startled by the sudden command and glanced back at a Kiba. The dog boy gave him an encouraging smile and a thumbs-up. Naruto grinned back, returning the gesture before following after Shino.

"Meet me back here later, Naruto! We'll eat lunch or something!" Kiba shouted as he jumped up and hung on the doorframe, watching them walk away. "And don't let Shino bug you! He's just anal that way!"

Naruto and Shino walked in silence for a while before boarding the elevator. Naruto watched as Shino pushed the button for the top floor and stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest in a stiff pose. Shino made no move to break the silence, which was just fine with Naruto since Shino didn't seem like the conversational type.

Naruto felt decidedly awkward compared to the stiff businessman next to him. He was all too aware of the fact that there was no shirt under his jacket and he was wearing his Spiderman boxers today. Shino was probably a briefs kind of guy; Naruto almost chuckled at that thought but caught himself in time.

Uh-oh. One of his shoelaces was untied. But he didn't want to draw attention to it when Shino was standing so stiffly. Maybe he could get it real quick when Shino stepped off the elevator before him.

A ding sounded overhead as the elevator door opened.

Shino lead the way and Naruto followed after, leaning down quickly to tie his shoe as soon as he was out of the doors. Halfway though Naruto looked up and saw Shino knocking on a wooden double door in the middle of the hallway.

Shizune answered the door. "Good morning, Mr. Aburame."

Startled by her quick appearance, Naruto jumped up, tripping over himself when his fingers got caught in his partially tied shoelace. He landed on the floor with a painful grunt.

Shizune's attention snapped to him, and Shino turned to observe him coolly.

"Na- Naruto?! You're here!" Shizune squeaked, clearly more startled than the blond had been himself.

Naruto quickly detangled himself and stood up, straightening his jacket and fixing his hair, which turned into rubbing the back of his head with a nervous grin. "Hi. Uh… Tsunade told me to get back to her. So, here I am!"

"Ah, yes! Of course! Come in, come in!" Shizune stood to the side and ushered the two young men inside.

Shino entered without a hitch. Naruto hesitated for only a moment before stepping inside as well. He avoided looking straight at the encouraging look on Shizune's face. The room inside was not Tsunade's office, but an elegantly decorated waiting room.

"Tsunade is on a conference call right now. So please wait a moment while I get her." Shizune gestured to a row of chairs lined against the wall before hastily disappearing into the back room.

Naruto took the seat furthest from the door, slumping down in it with a sigh. This wasn't really going the way he had hoped. He was supposed to bust in and tell the old hag what for, not stumble in like a nervous schoolgirl.

"Uzumaki…" Shino began slowly, drawing Naruto's attention to him. He had remained standing.

"Is the name of Konoha Kara No Dansei's former president," he said, looking not at Naruto but at the wall opposite them. Naruto followed the stoic boy's gaze and his breath caught at what he saw. He gave a shout of surprise and nearly fell out of his chair.

There was a portrait of him hanging on the wall.

Naruto blinked, now recognizing the differences between himself and the man in the portrait. For one, the blond man was older than Naruto. And there was the feature that had caught Naruto's eyes first, the lack of whisker scars.

Naruto unconsciously touched his scarred cheek, standing and striding to the portrait of the smiling man. His heart was pounding mercilessly against his chest. The plaque underneath read what he had suspected. '_Minato Uzumaki, Head Director of Konoha Inc. Home Division._'

Tsunade was right. Naruto was almost identical to this man. They had the same mess of yellow hair and blue eyes. Naruto reached up and touched the dimple on Minato's enlarged tan cheek, finding the cool and slightly dusty glass an odd texture for such a joyful expression.

Naruto tore his eyes away from the picture when he heard the door opening.

"Naruto, Tsunade is ready for you," Shizune said, a smile on her features.

The blond photographer nodded stiffly, momentarily glancing back at the portrait and Shino, who hadn't moved an inch. Shizune did not follow Naruto into the office but closed the door behind him.

Naruto glanced around at the office. It was spacious, furnished with faceless male mannequins wearing gothic clothing as well as fashion pinups and bookshelves. Tonton was asleep on a cat bed in the corner.

Tsunade was sitting at a large desk, her chin resting on her folded hands. The wall behind her was glass and facing the park, casting her in shadow somewhat despite the overhead lights.

The busty woman smiled confidently. "I was starting to think you'd never be in touch, Brat." She gestured to one of the two chairs in front of her desk.

Naruto grunted, choosing to refuse the offer. "Is calling me that supposed to convince me or something? You've got a weird sense of logic, lady."

"Just speaking your language. I'll stop if you want," Tsunade offered, still smirking.

Naruto huffed, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets as he walking around, gazing at the oddly dressed mannequins. The clothes were dark colors with chains and cuffs added liberally. The mannequins were covered with polka dots, stars, fingerless gloves and emo hats. It was like walking into a high end Hot Topics store.

He rubbed a blue scarf between his fingers, feeling the soft material. "Well… at least there's nothing skimpy" Naruto admitted grudgingly.

"Naruto," Tsunade said as she stood and walked around her desk. "Have you made a decision?" She asked candidly, her golden eyes meeting Naruto's blue ones.

Naruto allowed his arms to fall to his sides as he shifted uncomfortably, apparently still struggling with himself. His mind drifted back to the smiling face hanging on the wall just in the next room.

"I'm in," he declared, partly surprising himself.

Tsunade grinned in response, which made Naruto pout. "Don't look at me like that! Just tell me what I have to do!" he complained, his voice several pitches higher than it had been before.

Tsunade chuckled and returned back behind her desk and sat down. Naruto dropped into the previously offered seat.

"Getting the job may have been easy enough, with my help of course. But keeping it is a whole different matter," she began, giving the blond a pointed look.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow, moaning as he slumped forward. "Ehh? _Tsunade_, do you want me to have this job or don't you?" he whined.

Tsunade waved a hand, "No, no. I want you to have it. I honestly believe you're the best for the job. But a fair warning…" She leaned forward. "This position hasn't been permanently filled for nearly two years."

Naruto blinked, completely surprised by this. A big company like this couldn't keep a photographer?

"Why?"

Tsunade leaned back and let out a sigh. "A long while back we had a photographer who was, simply put, the best. No one can get shots that are even in the same league as his. Shino has been frustrated with all our temp photographers who can't keep up to par. Then even if they are moderately good they meet the models and…" Tsunade shrugged. "Let's just say no one has lasted longer than a month, and that was far above average."

Naruto slammed his hands down in the table, upsetting a tray of pens. "WHA- WHAT THE HELL?!" he shouted. Tonton grunted from the corner.

Tonton grunted from the corner and Tsunade glared at Naruto. "Sorry, honey. I know it's upsetting and it seems like I sprang this on you. But I meant to be up front with you about everything that first night. All our other photographers were sent packing almost immediately." She stood with a challenging glare in place, leveling with the young man in front of her. "This will not be an easy job."

Naruto snorted. "Maybe for _them_ it wasn't… but I wasn't exactly keen on the whole idea from the start you know. Maybe it's fine for you, but working with a bunch of snooty models would drive me crazy!"

A little surprised, Tsunade stared for a moment before allowing a chuckle to rise in her throat. So it wasn't just his parents he had misgivings about. That was a relief.

She hardened her gaze, oozing with renewed confidence. "You going to quit?"

Naruto's mouth twitched and grew into a fox grin. He recognized a challenge when he saw one. "No chance in hell."

"Good," Tsunade dropped into her seat, a satisfied gleam in her eye. "You start in one week, 8 AM sharp," she said. Then in an instant she dropped the air of authority and gave Naruto a warm smile. "Welcome to the team, Brat."

"He- Hey! Don't call me a brat, you Hag!" Naruto shouted, caught somewhere between being amused and irritated.

"And don't raise your voice to your superior! Now get your ass out of my office, I have a lot of work to do," she shooed him away.

Naruto stood and turned to leave. He had his hand on the doorknob before he turned back around, a nervous grin on his face. "Um… just thought I'd ask… the painting out there in the waiting room…" he broke off, not really sure what he was questioning, but just wanting some kind of confirmation.

Tsunade smiled, "Uncanny resemblance, wouldn't you say?"

Naruto couldn't help it. A huge grin grew across his face. "This isn't over, Hag! Once I'm settled in I'm going to tie you down and force you to tell me stories about my parents!" He swung the door open and left with a flourish.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Tsunade smiled as the door was shut behind him.

Outside the office Naruto was confronted with Shino, who didn't appear to have moved an inch since he had been gone. Shizune was nowhere in sight.

Okay, so this guy was seriously starting to freak him out. Standing there like a statue… Was he staring at Minato's portrait, or just being nice and waiting for him? Not that staring would be so unusual. Naruto was practically the double of a man who had been dead for years.

Naruto coughed into his hand to get the stoic boy's attention. When Shino slowly shifted his gaze to Naruto the blond smiled, trying to stay friendly. "Thanks you waiting! You're, ah, probably wondering about-"

"I know what's going on."

Shino pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, making sure his eyes were fully covered before continuing, "Listen Uzumaki, because I'm only going to say this once." Shino deadpanned, his glasses flashing.

"Your father may have made this magazine successful but that, in _my_ opinion, does not initial you to a free ride. Kiba's a moron, but he is good at what he does. Let's just hope you're the same way."

Naruto's jaw dropped.

With that, Shino turned on his heel and left. It had all happened so fast that Naruto wasn't shouting curses and swearing until Shino had pushed the down button and the elevator doors were closing.

-:-

Kiba pushed his way through the lunchroom crowd with Naruto trailing close behind. Naruto clutched his stomach and gazed longingly at the many choices the food court had to offer. He never had gotten breakfast and he was really starting to feel it now. Naruto Uzumaki does not run on empty. But Kiba had insisted that Naruto's stomach could wait, because he had to introduce him to some of the other employees he would be working with.

When Naruto had told Kiba what Shino said the dog boy shrugged it off, telling Naruto not to worry because that sounded like classic Shino. No one was ever good enough.

Naruto was still pissed about it though. Sure, he had originally been recognized because of his last name and given some special treatment, but that was no reason to demean him. He was damn good photographer, and he had had to work his way up from literally nothing to get where he was.

"Hello, ladies!!" Kiba waved at a group of girls across the food court. Naruto immediately perked up, deciding to put his brooding and hunger to the side in favor of more interesting activities.

Three girls watched, making room at their table as they approached. One had her hair tied up in two tight buns and was wearing a tight spandex tank top and sweat pants. The other two girls were much more prim. The blond one was wearing dress pants and a button-up sequin shirt, with large hoop earrings dangling from her earlobes.

But the girl that really caught Naruto's eye was the one on the far left. Her heir was dyed bubblegum pink, and she was wearing this complex black and pink lolishota dress with knee-high boots. She certainly stood out, in a good way. As they approached Naruto caught her eye by grinning and giving a small friendly wave. She smiled back.

The girl with the brown buns stood up, waving them over enthusiastically, "How you doing Kiba? Got your column in yet?"

"Nah, I'm going to make Shino suffer till the last possible second," Kiba snickered, plopping down opposite her. Naruto sat next to him, across from the rosey girl.

Kiba slapped a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "But hey, say hello to our new photographer! Naruto! He's awesome!"

Laughing nervously, Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Hee- Hello everyone."

Kiba's face suddenly turned grave. "Seriously though, you should all give him your phone numbers, like, right now."

Naruto's face turned brilliant red as the girls started laughing. Naruto squawked, "What?! Kiba!"

Kiba barked out a laugh that turned into a yelp when the brown haired girl hit him on the head. "Ignore him, he never got past that college freshman stage."

She held out her hand and Naruto shook it, welcoming the friendly gesture."It's wonderful to meet you Naruto. I'm Tenten, your models' personal trainer."

Naruto blinked, a little off set by the way the comment was phrased. "My models?"

"Well, they say the photographer can make or break a model's career. It's all about presentation right? Our models are already famous, but shoddy work isn't going to do them any favors," Tenten explained, chuckling at the look on Naruto's face. "You'll do great. If you got past Shino you must be good."

Naruto inwardly winced. Okay, so Shino hadn't picked him out. Big deal. It's not like he cared… really.

"I look forward to working with you, Naruto," The pink haired girl spoke up, immediately catching the blond's full attention.

Naruto's heart to fluttered up into his throat at the compliment, but he had to cut his inward cheer short as she continued.

"I'm Sakura and this is my friend Ino," Sakura indicated the blond girl sitting next to her who took the opportunity to flip her hair back and smile. "We're in charge of making the models look pretty! I'm the resident costume designer and she's our makeup artist."

Naruto snickered. _Heh, heh. Makeup. Prissy models._

"That's awesome, Sakura! Did you design that outfit you're wearing?" He asked impulsively, wanting the conversation to continue. Then immediately regretting it because it would be awkward if she bought her dress off the rack, but it seemed that luck was on Naruto's side today.

Sakura smiled and nodded in the affirmative, "Yep, most of my designs are for men of course, but I also like to make my own clothes. It's a hobby I've had since middle school."

Naruto grinned and scratched his cheek to hide the blush he could feel surfacing, but just as quickly he pulled his hand away, not wanting to draw attention to the scars on his cheeks. "It's really cute! I like your style."

"You would, you're wearing a bright orange jumper," Kiba pointed out.

"Kiba," Turning slowly towards the dog boy, Naruto spoke through gritted teeth. "Now would be an extremely good time to _shut your mouth_."

"No way, I know my rights!" Kiba hollered, laughing at Naruto's discomfort. "Come on Jersey Boy, you didn't come here just to work did you? You're in New York for cripes sakes! You need a night on the town!"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Kiba, he's not interested your beer runs. The man just got here."

"Yes I am! I'm interested!" Naruto contradicted.

"A man after my own heart!" Kiba slung an arm around Naruto's shoulders. "Stick with me kid, and I'll show you all the ropes."

"Please don't," Tenten sighed.

"Shikamaru, Choji, over here!" Ino stood up, waving two other men over. Unlike the girls, they were in business suits.

"Maa, not so loud Ino." The taller, ponytail clad man spoke, taking the seat on the other side of Kiba and immediately laying his head on the table.

"We had a lot of auditing to get done before the deadline." The larger man explained in a kind tone before sitting next to his co-worker.

Ino rolled her eye, "Oh please, Choji. He's a lazy ass all the time and you know it."

"Speaking of which," Kiba started, rising up a finger. "You two up for some clubbing?" He gave the other two men a toothy but pleading grin.

"How is that, 'speaking of which'?" Shikamaru asked, annoyed.

"It's to welcome our new comrade!" Kiba pointed to Naruto, sliding back so Shikamaru and Choji could see him.

"Another photographer?" Shikamaru lifted his head to give Naruto a skeptical look. "Can't I just go out for the next one instead? You dragged me to that stupid club last week."

Even though Naruto kept his smile in place, a vein on his brow ticked and he clinched a fist tightly.

"Shikamaru, that's rude!" Sakura glowered. Ino nodded fervently in agreement.

The lazy man shrugged and put his head back down. Choji gave Naruto an apologetic look.

Kiba snorted. "Hey, if I didn't work ten-hour days I might have time to make friends who aren't jerks or lazy asses! Besides, it's good for you to get off your butt every now and then!"

Shikamaru waved a hand in the air, apparently tired of talking. After a few moments Naruto wasn't even sure if he was awake any more.

"Whatever, we're having a party and that's that!" Kiba declared proudly. "Come on! He's just moved to New York! From _New Jersey_ of all places! This city will either make or break you, and if you're working for Konoha you definitely have it made. He should be celebrating!"

"What's wrong with New Jersey?" Naruto asked, sincerely curious.

Kiba slapped a hand over the blond's mouth. "Hush, young padawan. You have much to learn."

Question marks danced over Naruto's head and Kiba grinned.

"We start the holy trinity of the fashion industry, booze, babes and money. Of course, since it's all males models now it's more like booze, fangirls and money…"

"For god sakes, Kiba, quit pestering him." Sakura growled.

"Ten-ten!!!" A shout resonated though the room. It had a rippling effect that quickly caused the most everyone in the cafeteria to turn towards its source. Naruto couldn't see at first but people were quickly leaping out of the way as two men stormed towards their table. Well, one man was storming. The other was floating behind him with an amused smile on his face.

Two handsome asian men were rapidly approaching them and Naruto knew they had to be the models. Both were lean and pale with dark hair, but that would be were the similarities ended. Naruto could only assume it was the one up front who had shouted because he looked ready to kill. His long dark brown hair was pulled back in a loose knot halfway down his back, and his outfit was a simple army tank top and tan caprices. The other had short midnight black hair and a dark ensemble. An expression of absolute serenity graced his features.

The longhaired man pushed Kiba aside, knocking him into Shikamaru and whacking Kiba hard on the shoulder in the process. His long silky hair nearly reached his waist, and Naruto thought it looked shinier than any normal hair should.

Tenten stared at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"_WHAT_? You know _what_!" He pointed an accusing finger at the dumbfounded girl. Even though his eyes were contorted in rage Naruto was able to make out that they were white.

Tenten stared for another moment before narrowing her eyes. "Neji, this had _better_ not be about that shampoo."

Neji shook with rage, and Kiba laughed under his breath; he was the only one who dared to though. Naruto thought Neji was probably capable of murder right now.

"You… You… it was a special order from the Bahamas!"

"And it smelled like rotting seafood," Tenten grouched, "But I didn't touch your stupid shampoo."

"You were complaining about it for weeks!" Neji countered, hitting the table with his fist.

Tenten's growled, "I didn't steal your shampoo!! Do you even hear yourself?! You sound like a crazy person!"

The smiling man came up and placed a hand on Neji's shoulder, which was shaking with rage. "Perhaps it's time to let bygones be-"

He suddenly stopped, opening his large dark eyes, which up to now had been closed with his smile. Naruto fidgeted, realizing the model was looking straight at him. The look in his eyes was unreadable, but it made Naruto shy away all the same.

The eyes closed again as the smile returned. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Sai." The man held out a hand, which Naruto reluctantly shook, trying to smile back.

"Naruto Uzumaki, I'm the new photographer."

"_Really_?" Sai opened his eyes again, looking thoroughly interested. "Fantastic."

Sensing danger, Kiba shot up. "Sai, you perv! Naruto's straight!"

Naruto baulked. Sai looked Naruto up and down, making him feel thoroughly uncomfortable, especially since the handshake was lingering longer than it should. Sai's smile grew half an inch wider.

"We'll see," he said so quietly that Naruto wasn't sure anyone but him had heard it. Naruto shivered, snapping his hand back the moment Sai released it.

Neji looked over at Naruto as well, still looking irritable. "_This_ is our new photographer? I don't know if I want him taking my picture. What is he, a teenager?"

Naruto scowled. "I'm twenty-one."

"An amateur. Tsunade must be getting desperate," Neji scoffed as he sat down where Kiba had been, pushing the whole side down a space. Sai sat between Neji and Naruto, which put him in the way should Naruto decided to punch someone. Not a smart man.

"Neji, don't be an ass, I'm sure Naruto will do the best he can," Tenten said, massaging her temple.

Naruto stared. She made it sound like he was a charity case. Naruto. Does. Not. Take. Charity.

"Yeah! Naruto will be _fine_!" Kiba said loudly.

Neji looked down his nose at them. "'_Fine_', doesn't cut it in this business."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Man, you models are all the same. So full of yourselves, at least the ones here are."

Naruto slammed his hands down on the table with a deafening crack, startling everyone into silence. He was practically shaking with anger as he stood up. Oh, yeah, Naruto was pissed.

The other employees gaped as he climbed onto the table and stood in front of Neji, who was staring up at Naruto as if he had grown a second head.

Naruto took a deep breath. "You think i'm nothing?!! That i'm just another kink in the works?!! Well let me tell you something!!" Naruto rounded on the other people at the table, making them jump.

By now everyone in the cafeteria had turned to watch, Naruto's words heard clearly by everyone.

"I don't care who you think you are!! Hiding up here in your mighty New York company!! I'm the best fucking photographer you'll ever meet and I'm going to take best god damn pictures you've ever seen for this damn magazine!!" Naruto turned around, glaring out at everyone in the room. "Remember the name Naruto Uzumaki!!"

The room was completely silent as Naruto caught his breath, huffing as he took in their shocked faces with satisfaction. Let's see if they don't take him seriously now. _Heh, heh, I'm the best._ Naruto thought with glee.

Suddenly two green flashes collided with him, knocking the wind out of Naruto's chest and slamming him painfully to the floor.

"What the hell?!!" Naruto fought back, kicking and punching as the two figures tried to restrain him. Naruto's first panicked thought was that they were aliens, green aliens with freaky eyes and bowl haircuts.

"Hold him down with your youthful energy, Lee! I'll get the pepper spray!" The bigger one shouted.

"Yes Sir!!" The smaller one answered. Naruto screamed and thrashed, trying to get away.

"Wa- Wait a minute!!" Neji yelled, standing up.

"Let him go!" Kiba tackled Lee before the green beast could get a hold of Naruto's wrists. Everyone evacuated their seats as the fight escalated. The three boys rolled around on the floor slamming into benches and tables. Sakura and Ino screamed when they got near their feet.

"Mr. Editor, it is our solemn vow to protect our youthful prodigy at any cost!!" Lee shouted, refusing to give an inch.

Gai stood before them, hands clutching his head in worry. "Oh no! If I spray now I might hit Lee!"

After a moment hesitation Neji ran forward and grabbed the hand the big alien was holding the can of pepper spray with. "GAI, he's just the photographer!"

"Eh? Photographer? Photographers do not threaten their subjects!"

"Well, uh…"

Meanwhile Naruto and Kiba had managed to get the upper hand, each of them grabbing one of Lee's arms. "Forgive me, Sir!" Lee cried.

"Lee! Cut it out!" Surprisingly, Neji strode forward and pulled Lee up, away from Naruto and Kiba. The two boys were sporting what were sure to be several dark bruises and Naruto had a bloody nose that he was now whipping on his jacket sleeve.

"Sorry," Neji sighed, sounding exasperated. "They're… my managers. They tend to get a little over excited."

"A little?!" Naruto choked, whipping away the blood as it ran into his mouth. Wow, it was really flowing.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked with concern. Naruto smiled up at her. "Yeah, just need to get cleaned up a bit."

"Come on," Ino grabbed Naruto by the sleeve. "We'll get you cleaned up."

-:-

Tsunade watched the security camera monitor as Naruto was escorted out of the food court. She pushed a button on the keyboard and the camera switched to the hallway. As the blond was lead along he held his head up and pinched his nose to stop the flow.

Shizune stood next to her boss, holding Tonton tightly and glancing as Tsunade nervously, almost expecting her to get angry.

Tsunade smirked, "That was something." She chipped, her honey eyes glued to the screen. Shizune visibly relaxed.

"I suppose," she squeaked, a small smile forming.

Tsunade turned her chair away from the desk and stood up, walking to the large window. She gazed out over the park below. "I believe that kid has just the kind of spirit we need."

"You think?" Shizune asked, her small smile turning to a confused frown. "All he did was yell and get in a fight…"

"But he has an odd effect on people." She turned around, a knowing gleam in her eye. "Our models may be popular but they all have a flaw, the same flaw in fact; their attitude."

Shizune giggled, a sweat drop running down her head. "They say it takes attitude to be a good model."

"No, no, not that kind of attitude," The busty woman waved a hand dismissively.

"You see, Shizune, every good photographer knows that the best pictures are the ones with heart," She winked. "Our models are so cold, it's a wonder we can get any decent shots at all. Which is where Naruto comes in."

Tsunade turned back to the park, hands placed firmly on her hips. "If he's anything like his father, he'll be able to melt their icy exteriors and get some extraordinary shots." She chuckled heartily. If he can survive Sai's flirting, Neji's prudishness, Gaara's death aura and Sasuke's general bad attitude, they might just have themselves a photographer.

-:-

"_Iruka_!" Naruto whined, rubbing his eyes as he trailed after his father through the department store, which Naruto was sure the man was trying to buy out. "This isn't a camping trip! You don't have to get all this crap!"

Iruka took his eyes away from his list to glare at the blond. "You'll need this stuff Naruto."

"Oh yeah? What am I going to use a lantern for?" He fished out the offending object and held it up.

Iruka snatched the lantern back and dropped it into the cart. "In case the power goes out! These have a longer battery life than flash lights!"

Naruto grumbled. In the past few days he had been to several different nightclubs, gone sight seeing, and visited about fifty apartments before choosing one that was both affordable and that he liked. He was tired, and he didn't care what kind of silverware he owned.

"_Juuust pick one_!" Naruto pouted, snuggling his face against Iruka's back. "I'm sleepy…"

Iruka smiled. Honestly, Naruto could be just as cute as he was boisterous sometimes. "Just hang on a bit longer, we're almost done."

-:-

Naruto pushed his way out of the storage room, struggling with the two ten-foot long light stands he was trying to carry.

Okay, setting up his studio the evening before his first photo shoot was nerve wracking to say the least. He'd meant to get to it earlier, really! But with getting his apartment set up and everything he hadn't had any time. Iruka came up to help him settle in and had stayed for two days, and then last night Kiba had invited him out to get drinks with Shikamaru and Choji… So now he was fucked.

One of the stands bumped the ceiling and the other caught on the door. Naruto stopped where he was. Fuck! He adjusted the camera bag on his shoulder, trying to get a better grip on the slippery surface of the poles.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto caught sight of someone walking towards him. "Hey! Give me a hand here, will ya? These things are a bitch to carry and it got stuck in the door!"

The raven-haired man stopped before Naruto, turning his head just slightly to give the blond an uninterested gaze.

Blue eyes met smoldering black.

Naruto's first thought was that this guy was good looking. Sinfully good looking. Dark, curtain-like bangs fell around the boy's eyes; framing his pale face in such stark contrast, it reminded Naruto of a porcelain doll. Except there was nothing delicate about the arrogant glare he was receiving, like a prince looking down his nose at a presumptuous peasant. Naruto frowned, giving the glare right back.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, their eyes locked and glaring. The longer those dark eyes were watching him the angrier Naruto got. Then the pale man turned his head away and continued on his way as if he had never been interrupted.

Naruto gaped, his brow twitching in anger. That guy had stopped, looked straight at him and didn't even lift a finger to help! What kind of asshole does that?!! He sent death glares after that man until he rounded the corner and was out of sight.

Naruto scoffed, berated himself for thinking someone with a chicken butt hairstyle could be good looking and decided he didn't want help from such a bastard in the first place.


	3. Chapter 3

**Konoha Kara No Dansei**

**Warnings:** &$# cursing, ooc Neji, violent Sakura, plot development

Lots to talk about this time around. Kishimoto has finally decided to tell all and reveal Naruto's dad's name, and just at the time I start a fanfic using 'Arashi' XP I probably won't change it for this story, since his name isn't really important to the plot, but maybe I'll go back and change his first name to canon later.

Also, there will be other pairings, but don't count on them being hot yaoi XD, the main pairing is NaruSasu but most of the other pairings in this fic are straight, sorry! I say most, there is another yaoi pairing hinted at, but I won't say which. :P (Anything Sai says doesn't count.)

* * *

_Mmmm, coffee._

Although Naruto's heart belonged to ramen, he had to admit, he had a soft spot for coffee. Good old coffee, rich with cream and with enough sugar added in to induce diabetes in a lesser mortal. Hey, you only live once, right?

Naruto took long gulps the overly sweet liquid, enjoying the pleasantly warm feeling it left in his stomach and throat as he approached the Konoha building. The air conditioning blew down on his head as he entered through the front revolving door. The sudden chilly blast felt really good since last night's rain had left the city air humid and sticky.

The lobby wasn't empty like it had been the first morning Naruto arrived at the Konoha Building, but crowded with other employees. They were all chatting and making their way up to their offices, all of them in freshly starched business attire. It made Naruto all the more grateful that photographers could get away with dressing casually.

Holding the thick strap of his camera bag securely on his shoulder and using his free hand to sip coffee, he made his way straight towards the elevators on the left, the ones that came out near his studio.

Naruto had done a bit of soul-searching last night, and decided that… he was damn tired of moping around! Well, by Naruto's standards he had been moping. That energy could be put to much better use. For instance, he could be wooing a certain pink haired girl, or making fun of preppy models.

He dropped the empty coffee cup into a trashcan as he passed by, his mind turning to the two models he had met.

For reasons Naruto couldn't fathom, Neji hadn't given him any lip since Naruto had verbally assaulting him. Now, Naruto was the self-declared king of overreaction, and it was possible he had taken things a little too far. So Neji probably had every right to consider him an enemy. However... in the few times he had seen Neji in the last week, the model was actually acting somewhat nice to him. A first Naruto thought he was imagining it, but now he was sure that Neji had, well… accepted him. For whatever reason. Weird.

If Neji was weird then Sai was downright freaky. Naruto had become somewhat more accustomed to Sai's unique quirks over the past few days. But that was soley because the model took every opportunity to make a perverted comment. Damn fruity boy with his emotionless smile and penis obsession.

On the other hand, Gaara and Sasuke seemed to have a knack for staying illusive. They were probably held up in the bathroom powdering their noses all week. Ah well, Naruto would meet them today anyway. It was his first official day working for Konoha Kara No Dansei after all, and he was finally getting paid, and paid well, to take pictures.

He had a goal. Naruto was going to show all these arrogant New Yorkers just what a small town boy could do. Within a week, two tops, everyone in this building would recognize him and his talent. He would definitely make sure of that.

He pressed his way into an already overcrowded elevator, grinning at the people who gave him apprehensive glances. Though whether it was because of his blazing orange trench coat or because they recognized him from the fight in the cafeteria he couldn't tell, but he was pleased all the same. Seems he was already well on his way to being recognized.

"Excuse me, sorry," he said as he brushed past a woman, pressing against the wall of the elevator to make room for the people who came in after him. Once they were packed together tightly the doors closed and they started moving upward.

It was slow going because the elevator stopped at nearly every floor, but as people stepped off and the crowd thinned, Naruto spotted another person who stood out just as much as he did. Well, almost as much.

Naruto assumed the guy was a janitor, because the old man was standing with his hand resting on a wheeled trashcan. His hair was outrageously long and stark white, pulled into a ponytail that covered his back. The guy also looked like he had just been to the beach, with his flower patterned shirt, shorts and sandals (worn with socks). He was also openly leering at the backside the woman Naruto had brushed against with his mouth hanging open, a bit of drool sliding down to his chin.

Naruto frowned at the pervert. He was probably some old ex-hippie. That would explain the ridiculously long hair and the red lines painted on his face. Probably. Dirty old man.

This went on for several floors, Naruto glancing over every now and then to see if the woman had noticed yet. She hadn't, and the pervert either didn't realize or didn't care that he looked like he was about to let out a cartoon style wolf whistle. Naruto rolled his eyes, turning away to watch the digital number at the top of the elevator going up. It wasn't hurting anything so he was pretty much content to ignore the open gawking.

That is, until he saw a hand reaching for the woman's butt.

Naruto sprang into action. He made a grab for the pervert's wrist, but the old man saw him coming and changed course at the last moment. Naruto ended up with a hand full of butt cheek.

"EEK!!" The girl screamed and jumped away.

Naruto froze as she whipped around to shoot a venomous glare at him, along with the angry frowns from everyone else on the elevator. He paled, a guilty looking hand still held out in front of him, frozen in his shock. The pervert chuckled.

"Wa-Wait! This isn't what you think!!" Naruto shouted, gaining enough sense to blush and wave his hands around. Pain shot through his jaw as the girl slapped him across his face.

The next moment the elevator door opened and Naruto stumbled out, cursing and rubbing a hand against his abused cheek. The girl huffed and jabbed the close-door button. Just before the door shut the old man put a hand on the door and pushed it open again.

"Very sorry, miss. This is my stop," he said with a generous amount of mirth, pushing his trashcan out of the elevator. The door closed as he approached Naruto, who was still trying to massage away the pain in his face.

Naruto turned to see the old pervert grinning at him. "Bold, kid. Very bold."

"What?! I was trying to stop YOU!! Pervert!!!" Naruto screeched.

"Why do you think I'm calling you bold?" The old pervert asked cheekily.

Not knowing how to respond to that, Naruto settled for glaring at the man. Except that the man had started walking away, pushing his trashcan in front of him.

Naruto sputtered and sprinted after him. "HEY!! Hold on, you- you _perverted-hippie-janitor_!!"

The janitor raised an eyebrow at Naruto, "Name's Jiraiya, kid."

"Whatever! Listen, I could have gotten into a lot of trouble because of you! She slapped me!"

"What? Never been slapped by a woman before?" Jiraiya asked, grinning and wiggling his eyebrows.

Naruto glared. Was that really something to be proud of? "That's not the point! That wasn't my fault! I want people to recognize me, but not that way!! Fix this!!"

"What do you want me to do? It's not like I can change what happened."

"I don't know! This is _your_ fault!" Naruto pointed out stubbornly.

"I'll tell you what," Jiraiya stopped walking and turned to the blond. "How about I go commit some _really_ perverted acts? I guarantee they'll have forgotten all about you by lunch," he suggested, sounding far too keen on the idea.

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

Jiraiya laughed and Naruto got the feeling the old man was going to do perverted things either way. "You're Naruto, aren't you?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto blinked in surprise and stared up at him for a few moments before nodding.

Jiraiya smiled, "Thought so. Mind if I give you a tip, Naruto? One photographer to another?"

Naruto's eyes widened in momentary surprise. "Um… sure."

"Make love to your models."

Jiraiya reached a hand towards Naruto's quickly retreating back. "_Metaphorically_! I meant metaphorically!"

Naruto slowly turned back around, giving Jiraiya a suspicious glare.

"Sorry, old terminology dies hard. What I meant was, encourage them. A model will always work better if they think you think they're sexy," Jiraiya explained, sounding completely serious.

Naruto grudgingly supposed that made sense, not that he wouldn't rather be tied to a cement block at the bottom of a lake.

"I'll keep that in mind…"

The old pervert snickered, "Well I wouldn't want to take up any more of your time. See you around, kid."

Naruto watched Jiraiya turn and leave, still pushing that trashcan along. He wondered if maybe he had been mistaken about Jiraiya being a janitor, but if the old man was a photographer like he claimed, why was he hanging around here pushing trashcans?

The blond's thoughts were cut short when he suddenly remembered there was somewhere he had to be right now.

"Shit!" Naruto took off running.

-:-

Naruto burst into the studio ten minutes late, slamming the doors loudly against the walls in his rush.

"I'm here! I'm here!" he shouted as he hurried forward, stumbling and dodging around the haphazardly placed wires and backdrops. He wished he hadn't been in such a rush setting up.

"Oh! Such a youthful entrance! Well done, Naruto!" Gai exclaimed while Lee also gave a shout of approval.

Naruto laughed as he approached the group across the large, white room.

The 'Green Beasts', as they liked to be called, had become extremely apologetic about assaulting Naruto, after they found out the whole story of course, and Naruto was generous enough to forgive them. Especially since he had discovered that those two were funny as hell to hang out with. Aside from their ridiculous looks, they were always going on about youth or energy or something, and it amused Naruto as much as it annoyed their client.

Neji sighed from the green fold our chair he was sitting in and pinched the bridge of his nose. Ino swatted the hand away irritably before continuing to apply Neji's makeup, trying to make sure his forehead wouldn't shine.

"Just go get my water bottle please," Neji instructed, waving a hand in his managers' direction.

"Right!" the two sped off towards the dressing room, passing by Sai and Sakura on the way.

The dark haired model caught Naruto's eye and smiled at the conditioned glare Naruto sent at him. He was already in costume and makeup, and looking extremely pleased that he got to wear a belly shirt on Naruto's first day of shooting.

Sakura just looked pissed.

"Naruto! You're late!" she shouted as she approached him, placing her hands on her hips and frowning at him. Today she was wearing a tight fitting t-shirt with a skull and crossbones pattern, complete with matching earrings.

"Wah! I'm sorry!" Naruto tried to look as apologetic a possible, "It's not my fault! There was this pervert was holding me up on the elevator!"

Sai looked positively ecstatic, "Kinky."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly before she snorted, quickly covering her mouth with a hand. Naruto stared at Sai in confusion for a few moments before his face contorted in disgust. "What? EWW, No!! Not me you sicko!! He was trying to molest some lady!"

Sai merely continued to smile. Naruto growled while Sakura giggled.

"Seriously Naruto," Sakura persisted, straightening her face, "Shino will throw a fit if he finds out you're coming in late."

Naruto waved a hand dismissively. "Wouldn't want that," he chuckled. "He might actually have to take off his glasses and_ glare _at me. I'd be a pile of cinders before that's done."

Naruto winced when Sakura punched his arm for being an idiot. Damn, that girl could punch hard. "Just don't make a habit of it, okay?" she huffed, "Tsunade really had to wear him down to hire you in the first place."

Naruto was a little annoyed that he was getting lectured for something that totally wasn't his fault, but Sakura was pretty enough to merit instant forgiveness.

"Won't happen again!" he grinned and give her a two finger salute.

Sakura returned the smile, "Good. Well, Sai is the only one finished, so you can start with him if you like." She gestured at Sai, whose smile seemed to grow a few centimeters wider.

Naruto inwardly groaned and he could feel his eye developed a tick as he looked at the serenely smiling model. He didn't want to give Sai the satisfaction of knowing he was afraid of being alone with him, so he couldn't readily back down. Not that Naruto was shaking in his shoes or anything. The boy was just too damn eager to get into his pants.

Or at least make Naruto uncomfortable, he still wasn't sure whether Sai was just messing with his head or not.

"Fine." Naruto grouched, cramming as much distain into the word as he could muster. "But you keep your hands to yourself!" he warned, jabbing a finger in Sai's direction.

"Nothing to grab down there anyway," Sai commented easily.

"EH?!!" Naruto squawked.

Sakura started to tell them to get on with it when a new girl interrupted her, walking over from the direction of the dressing room. Naruto couldn't help but notice that Sakura seemed irritated by the blonde girl's appearance.

"Sakura, Gaara doesn't like the outfit you picked out," Temari informed her in a businesslike manner.

Sakura let out a frustrated sigh. "That's the center piece for our Shibui Line, he has to wear it! It's not an option."

Temari shook her head, "You know he won't, once he has his mind is made up…"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get him something different," Sakura conceded. It was pretty obvious that this had been a problem before. Even in the short time Naruto had known her, Sakura didn't seem like the type to give in so readily.

"We'll just have switch up the roster a little," she muttered to herself, flipping open a small book where she kept her notes. "Sasuke can wear the center piece and Gaara can-"

"WHAT?!!" Neji jumped out of his seat, nearly causing Ino to stab his retina with the eyeliner in the process. "You can't give the center piece to Sasuke, I'm his senior!"

Sakura glared, "And I'm the head designer. It's_ my_ job to decide who wears what."

Neji's nostrils flared with anger and his glare turned piercing, but he held his tongue. Sakura allowed a smug smile to form on her face, knowing she had the upper hand.

"Come on," Neji snapped, grabbing Naruto's sleeve and pulling him across the room. Naruto was a little startled, but allowed himself to be dragged away. Sai followed after, looking completely unconcerned, albeit a little disappointed that he wasn't getting alone time with Naruto today. Naruto saw Sakura and Ino head into the dressing room with the blonde girl.

"This is getting ridiculous," Neji spat. "Two months that guy has been here. Two months!"

"I don't understand what you're going on about," Naruto said bluntly. Did these models always have to fuss about something?

Neji just grunted and roughly released the blond to go stand in front of the cream colored backdrop with his arms crossed. Furrowing his brows, Naruto turned a questioning glance at Sai instead.

"Sasuke," Sai offered in explanation, coming to stand next to blond.

"The other model?" Naruto asked, allowing his face to relax. He had heard about Sasuke in passing but didn't really know anything about the man. Though Kiba had insinuated that he was uptight like Neji. Ugh. That's just what he needed.

"Four years I've worked here. This is what I get for my hard work," Neji grumbled, catching their attention. "I get one-upped by some nobody who doesn't even bother to show up half the time."

Naruto frowned. Even if he wasn't too fond of Neji, he still didn't like to see people getting cheated out of what was theirs. "Well that sucks. What's so great about Sasuke?"

"Nothing," Neji said firmly.

"Oh, that's not true," Sai spoke up. "Sasuke's a natural model. He knows just how to carry himself to make all the girls swoon, and believe me, they have good reason to," Sai said dreamily, apparently caught up in his own fantasy world. Naruto resisted the urge to gag.

"Apparently he was already popular with the local girls, and when he became a model, he shot to the top of the charts within the first week," Neji explained irritably.

Naruto set down his camera bag and opened it. Sai watched with interest as Naruto attached a lens and the flash to his camera. Neji continued, unabated.

"He says he's just doing it to get money for his education, but I don't buy that for a moment. The sooner he packs his bags the better, because he's dragging all of us down with him."

Naruto held up his camera and snapped a picture.

Neji froze in horror, mouth agape, as Naruto looked down at the camera's digital screen. The blond photographer grinned maliciously. "I think I'll call it, 'Gossiping Fruitcake'."

Sai peeked over Naruto's shoulder. "I think he's more of a poof."

"Wha- What the-? Don't take pictures of me when I'm not looking!"

"Why not? It's got character. It says, 'My mouth may be big enough for a bird to nest in, but at least I'm pretty'."

Neji advanced with the intention of taking the camera by force, but Lee and Gai choose that moment to appear and block his way. "Neji! We could not locate your water bottle! But we brought you a new, far more refreshing bottle!" Gai held up the plastic bottle enthusiastically.

"It's grape flavored!" Lee added happily.

Neji scowled at their intrusion, and his expression darkened further as Naruto burst out laughing. "No thank you."

"Haven't you guys started yet?" Sakura asked as she approached them, Ino at her side and three people behind her.

One was the blond girl, Temari, and the other two were men, a man wearing dark clothing and face paint, and a redhead with a tattoo on his forehead. The redhead was easily the most eye catching of the bunch.

The kanji tattoo was bright red, plainly visible where the boy's short messy hair had been parted. His outfit was clearly one of Sakura's designs, as it was covered with straps and belts twisting around his red shirt and baggy pants. He also had three piercing in each ear, and a long complicated chain was looped between the holes, Naruto thought it must have been hella painful to get in.

The boy, who could only be Gaara, locked eyes with him sharply. Naruto physically drew back at the wrathful glare he was getting. Gaara looked like would have loved to cut Naruto's throat and chop him into little pieces. Or maybe it was just all the eye makeup…

Naruto squinted, trying to make out the redhead's expression, but it did about as much good as staring into Shino's glasses. The boy had no eyebrows for one thing and his eyes were so covered by eyeliner it was impossible to tell if he was really glaring or not. The rest of his face was impassive.

Naruto fumed. What's up with that? Was it some kind of fashion statement?

The models lined up. Sai stood in the middle, his smile ever present and a hand rubbing his exposed stomach suggestively. Neji was to one side with a scowl and his nose in the air while Gai and Lee shouted words of encouragement and praise from the sidelines. Gaara stood stiffly, staring a Naruto without blinking; sending cold shivers down the photographer's spine.

It was like a meeting of the creepy bastards club. He was staring to regret this. Just how was he supposed to survive spending nearly every day with them?

Naruto held his camera up to the side with one hand, resting the other on his hip and giving the men before him a potent glare. "We're still missing one prima-donna."

"Oh, I'm sure Sasuke will be along soon! Just go ahead and start with the others!" Sakura said hastily.

Naruto barely had time to wonder why Sakura was defending their missing model before the sound of the door opening drew their attention.

A dark haired man with porcelain pale skin entered the room, looking thoroughly irritated. Naruto about dropped his camera.

"AHH!! You're that asshole from last night!!" Naruto shouted in anger and surprise, pointing a finger towards the bastard in question.

The pale man looked up, his eyes widening just slightly and his frown deepening significantly when he saw the blond. He narrowed his eyes into a glare.

Naruto was working hard to restrain himself from visibly shaking with anger. There it was _again_!! That very same god damned condescending glare!! What the fuck was this guy's problem?!!

Naruto took a breath, preparing to shout some more.

"Naruto!" Sakura punched him on the arm. Hard.

"OW! _Geez!!_ Damn, girl!" Naruto rubbed his bruised appendage, his eyes twitching as he tried to stop them from watering.

"Maa, sorry everyone. We hit a deer on the way here," an idle drawl was heard before another man entered though the door, a book held in front of his face.

_A deer? In the streets of New York City?_ Naruto thought with confusion.

The man lowered the book from his face and Naruto could see that another weirdo had arrived. Even though he was a young man the guy had a head of tufted white hair, and he was wearing some kind of mask that covered the lower half of his face, and a band of the same material was covering his left eye. But despite having most of his face covered, Naruto had absolutely no trouble making out this guy's expressions. His visible eye was tilted up and a halfway apologetic smile shown through the mask.

"Sasuke," Ino ran forward eagerly, causing Sakura to twitch.

She invaded the model's personal space. Seeming impervious to the glare he was now shooting at her, Ino suggested cheerfully. "We should get to work on your makeup! Let's let the others get started and we can go to the dressing room so we don't disturb them!" she suggested cheerfully.

"Ino!" Sakura pulled roughly on her friend's shoulder, putting some distance between her and the model. "He has to get dressed first!"

"But he doesn't need your help for that! Just tell him what outfit to wear!"

"Well Sasuke doesn't even need makeup, his face is perfect just as it is!"

Sasuke closed his eyes, willing away the headache he could feel forming. "Shut up."

The girls were immediately silent, both gazing at Sasuke expectantly. This only irritated the raven more.

"What am I wearing?" he asked Sakura directly.

Ino gritted her teeth with jealously. Sakura blushed and couldn't help stuttering a little, "The- the Shibui center piece! It's up front on the blue hanger, I know it was supposed to be Gaara's but, um…" She trailed off as Sasuke walked away towards the dressing room, hands in his pockets.

Naruto couldn't believe it. _This_ was Sasuke?! The most popular model in New York?! Didn't people have _any_ taste?!!

The blond photographer watched helplessly as Sakura followed Sasuke into the dressing room, giving helpful instructions on how best to put on the outfit, which the raven ignored.

What the hell did Sakura see in him?!! Was Naruto the only one who could see what a bastard he was? And he wasn't even that great looking!! He was mediocre at best!!

"You must be our new photographer."

The statement snapped Naruto's attention away from the two, and he looked up at the taller masked man. "Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke's manager and temporary chauffer," he introduced himself cheerfully, holding out the hand that wasn't holding the book.

Naruto took it, shaking hands with the man. At least this guy didn't seem like a jerk. "Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto returned the favor, forcing a smile.

For a brief moment the handshake paused.

The smile fell from Naruto's face before Kakashi moved his hand again, finishing the handshake before releasing Naruto. His expression never changed.

"I look forward to working with you," Kakashi said, sounding sincere. His eye turned into a U shape. "I hope Sasuke doesn't scare you off."

_Him?! Scare _Me

Fear was the furthest thing from Naruto's mind at the moment. So far it was all he could do to restrain the overwhelming need to punch Sasuke in the face.

"Pfffft, not likely!" Naruto shouted energetically, squinting his eyes shut and holding up his fists.

Kakashi chuckled.

-:-

Naruto snapped a few shots, holding his camera sideways in front of his face to get a long ways picture. He sighed irritably.

"Sai, would you wipe that smile off your face?! It's starting to creep me out!"

The model merely continued to smile, running a hand along the outer seem of his tight pants and gripping at the chain dangling from his pocket. His other hand, clad in a glove with the fingers cut off, ran through his dark bangs. The effect would have very sexy if he wasn't smiling like a moron.

Naruto puffed out his cheeks. "Don't you have any other expressions? Or are you just always thinking of something pervy?"

"Only when you're around, Naruto," Sai replied, saying Naruto's name with a slow roll of the tongue.

Naruto growled, "I'm serious! Cut it out!"

Sai dropped the smile, a small, fake frown now gracing his features.

Naruto rolled his eyes and prepared to take the shot, looking through the lens of his camera. After a moment he let out a frustrated groan.

"Can you open your eyes? You look like you're not getting enough bran."

The smile returned. "I will if you will."

Naruto quickly opened his eyes, which had been squinted shut in anger, lifting an eyebrow at the strange request. Sai then complied; his dark eyes looking straight into Naruto's blue ones.

After a few moments Sai's eyes lowered to half-mast. "I could get used to staring into your eyes."

"AAARRRHH!! Never mind! Go back to the old expression!!"

-:-

Gaara turned, leaning slightly as he looked over his left shoulder at the blond taking his picture. His red shirt hung low in the back, exposing the tops of his shoulder blades.

Naruto's eyebrows twitched.

"Okay, now turn around please," Naruto instructed.

The redhead did as he was told, his chained earrings jangling as he did so.

Okay, so Gaara was semi-tolerable. He didn't grate on Naruto's nerves like the rest of his models did, anyway. But… Naruto was having another problem.

Pale green eyes that promised a very painful death gazed down at Naruto, and the blond about wet himself. He jumped back and hastily pointed off to the side.

"Ah, okay! Now look over there!" Naruto shouted, his hand shaking. Gaara obediently did as he was told.

Naruto let out a sign of relief when those eyes were no longer looking at him. Gaara was really freaking him out!! It wasn't just the death glare, but the boy hadn't spoken one single word all day!! And there were a lot of places he could hide weapons in that outfit. He was psychopath! Naruto was sure of it!!

"Wow," the blond girl, who was Gaara's sister and manager, Temari, came up to stand next to Naruto. "He really likes you. Gaara usually just poses whatever way he feels like."

"Wha- What?!!" Naruto sputtered, unable to believe it.

The redhead turned back, glaring (or looking, whatever) at Naruto again.

_NOOOOO!!!_ Naruto cried inside his head.

-:-

"Don't tilt the camera up so much. You'll make my head look big," Neji said haughtily as he unbuttoned the white sleeveless shirt he was wearing, allowing it to fall open and expose his chest.

"And don't snap off pictures whenever you feel like it! Wait until I'm ready!" he roared as the camera continually flashed in his face, making him see spots.

Naruto snickered and continued to press the button over and over again, mostly to annoy him.

"Show him your youthful vigor, Neji!" Gai cheered from off to the side. "Remember to set a good example for your fans! Be a nice guy!" The large green clad man struck a pose, giving the thumbs up and grinning, a bright shine imitating from his teeth.

"Ooh! Sir, you're so awesome!" Lee cheered. "Listen to Gai, Neji! He knows how to be a nice guy!" Lee said enthusiastically, giving the exact same pose.

For a moment, Neji and Naruto stared. Then Naruto held up his camera, aimed and took a shot of the green beasts in their nice guy pose.

Their mouths fell open in identical looks of shocked surprise.

Neji twitched badly as Naruto smiled down at his camera's digital screen. "You- What are you doing?!! You're supposed to be taking picture of _me_!!"

"But… that was just awesome," Naruto said.

Lee looked up at his mentor, "Does this make us famous, sir?"

"NO IT DOES NOT!!" Neji bellowed.

-:-

Sasuke didn't reemerge from the dressing room until it was his turn to be photographed.

_Talk about anti-social,_ Naruto thought grumpily as he watched Sakura and Ino fuss over the brunet's appearance.

Most everyone had left after their portion was done. Gaara and his siblings were the first to leave around noon. They were only in the studio for about two hours overall, including the time it took to take Sai's pictures before him. Naruto felt pretty relieved when Gaara stalked out of the room, Temari and Kankuro sprinting to keep up.

Neji took much longer because he was insanely picky about how his hair fell and wanted to look at every picture Naruto took and delete them at his discretion. He got pretty mad when Naruto wouldn't let him touch his camera, too. Gai and Lee finally dragged Neji out, enthusiastically promising him a late lunch.

So Naruto was now left with Sai, who was sitting on some boxes Naruto hadn't bothered to clear out of the room, giving the blond a tentative stare, and Kakashi, who was leaning against the wall, reading his yellow book. Naruto was starting to get a suspicious feeling about that book. Every now and then Kakashi would blush and giggle while reading it.

Looking irritable, Sasuke pushed between the two girls blocking his way and strode over to stand in front of the backdrop.

He crossed his arms and glared down his nose at the blond, as if questioning whether Naruto was worthy of basking in his almighty fucking glow.

Naruto repressed the urge to throw his camera in the asshole's face. He didn't want bastard-germs all over it.

He glanced over at Sakura, who was having an elbowing contest with Ino, each trying to be the one to stand closer.

He couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Sure, it'd be one thing if Sasuke and Sakura were an item; Naruto wasn't some jealous stalker or anything. But Sasuke obviously wasn't interested in her! He ignored her ninety percent of the time and treated her like shit the rest!

It wasn't just her either, but everyone! Sasuke even treated strangers in need like they were vermin! Last night proved that.

"I'd like to get this done sometime this week, Dobe."

Naruto's mind was forced back into the present as he was reminded that Sasuke was standing right in front of him raising a slender eyebrow.

He'd been so busy berating Sasuke in his mind; he had almost forgot he could do it in person.

"Oi! What was that, you bastard?!" Naruto shouted loudly.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted again, only this time she wasn't within punching distance.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, sighing quietly in exasperation. "Hurry it up. I have things to do."

Naruto huffed, "You can't rush art, stupid, and this is probably going to take a while. Considering there's nothing much worth photographing," he looked Sasuke up and down, a disgusted grimace on his face.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched and his frown deepened. "I should have figured you were the new photographer. It only takes about two brain cells to point and click a camera after all."

Naruto's mouth fell open in shock and then he roared with unrestrained rage. "You take that back, you bastard!!"

The model gave him a cool, level stare. Apparently responding to such a childish comeback was beneath him. Naruto growled.

"What the hell is your problem, anyway?!! You really do think you're _all that,_ don't you?!!"

Sasuke's patience was wearing thin. "Just shut up and take the fucking pictures, moron."

"Rawr," Sai batted his hand like a playful cat. They ignored him.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "You want a picture? How do you like this?" He held his hand right out and flipped Sasuke the bird.

Sasuke's eyes widened just long enough for Naruto to capture the shot, his hand in the picture and Sasuke's stunned face in the background.

A satisfied grin spread across Naruto's face.

"That's quite enough!" the blond heard Sakura shout right before his ear was grabbed and yanked roughly. He let out a yelp.

"Can you at least _try_ to be professional?" she grouched, folding her arms and glaring at Naruto.

"Bu- But Saakkurraaa!!" he whimpered.

Sasuke turned towards the dressing room, hands in his pockets. "I'm leaving."

"Huh? But Sasuke!" Ino scurried after him. "You still have two other outfits to get done! From the times you missed before, remember?" she asked pleadingly.

Sasuke ignored her and disappeared into the dressing room. Ino turned to give Sakura and pleading look.

"This is your fault!" Sakura said to Naruto, glaring. "Do you know how much we have to get done before this deadline? Next time learn to keep your loud mouth shut!"

She released the blond with a final yank on his ear and went to join Ino, the two quickly following Sasuke into the dressing room.

Naruto rubbed his ear, pouting. This wasn't his fault!! It was all that bastard Sasuke!! Why was _he_ getting off so easy?!! Damn conceded pissy bastard model!!

Sai slid off the boxes he was sitting on and walked over to place a hand on the fuming blond's shoulder. "Don't take it personally. Sakura just has a temper. If you want, I could kiss your ear and make it better."

Naruto's face contorted with rage. "Fuck off!!"

Kakashi watched over the top of his book, momentarily distracted from his beloved reading material. It was no Come Come Paradise, but it seemed there was a little drama unfolding between Sasuke and his coworkers.

He honestly wasn't sure if this was something he should include in his report. But it was amusing in any case.

-:-

Sasuke unlocked to door to his apartment and walked inside. He dropped the keys into a small bowl on the table next to the coat rack, and proceeded down the dark hallway, shrugging his heavy book bag off his back and holding it at his side.

He felt his way into the nearly empty living room, running a hand along the wall until he found the light switch.

The overhead lamps turned on with the switch, filling the high-rise apartment with a soft light.

Sasuke wasn't much for decorating to begin with, and since he hadn't planned on being in this apartment for very long he didn't see the point of filling it with a lot of things he wouldn't use. So the living room and connected kitchenette were sparsely furnished, carrying only a few items in each. The most notable of which were the barstools at the kitchen counter, the TV and the leather couch positioned in front of it. A few newspapers were strewn across the floor in front of the couch, where he had left them.

A man sitting on the couch looked up at Sasuke's arrival, a small frown on his handsome features. Sasuke was only slightly surprised to see his older brother in his apartment, and more irritated than anything.

"You're finally back, Otouto," Itachi said as Sasuke walked past him and dropped his book bag next a stool at the bar. "What took you so long?"

"_Obviously_, I had classes tonight," Sasuke growled, stepping forward and crossing his arms. "Where have you been? I haven't heard anything for over a week."

Itachi sighed; he should have known his stubborn little brother wouldn't let that go so easily. Sasuke hated being left out of the loop, and that had been happening a lot recently. Luckily, this time Itachi was here to give him some information about the investigation.

"We think the lead I told you about is correct," Itachi said, his impassionate eyes leveling with Sasuke's glare. "We've been running a thorough background check on him. I've hardly been outside the precinct myself as of late."

Sasuke grunted. Itachi never told him anything unless it was absolutely necessary. In Itachi's mind, it was some fucked up way of protecting him. So this had to be going somewhere.

"So that's it then. We're done?" he asked shortly.

Itachi gave the younger man a stony gaze. "We won't be done until the killer is behind bars, Sasuke."

"That is not what I meant, Aniki," Sasuke sighed, frustrated. "Am _I_ finished? Because as much as I enjoy getting ogled and pestered for autographs on a daily basis, I'd like to quit so I can concentrate on more important things. Finishing college, for instance," Sasuke snapped irritably.

A small, amused smile formed on Itachi's face. "I'm afraid not, little brother. The chief has asked that you stay undercover for the time being, and continue to inform us of anything suspicious happening inside Konoha." He paused momentarily, giving Sasuke a meaningful look. "Your participation is vital to this investigation, and you did agree to this role."

Sasuke's glare intensified. Yes, he had agreed to participate in a police investigation by playing the part of a male model, but no one could have predicted he would become so popular so quickly. It was completely idiotic. He couldn't go anywhere in the building discretely and what's worse he was being recognized outside Konoha too. Especially at school. The girls who had swooned over him before seemed to multiply tenfold and grow a hell of a lot bolder in the last two months.

And what had all his hard work and suffering accomplished? Nothing.

"If I haven't found anything by now then there's nothing there," Sasuke argued. "Go follow your new lead, you can't convict Konoha without any evidence."

Itachi frowned, running a hand through his bangs. "No, there's not enough evidence to convict him either."

Sasuke took a breath, looking away. He spoke softly. "Five models are dead. Brutally murdered. You'd think the police would be able to find something."

"All those deaths were within Konoha's enemies. We can't clear the company, especially now, Otouto," Itachi continued, his voice growing just slightly stronger and Sasuke knew he had finally come to the point of his visit.

"The man we've been observing was invited to work for Konoha Kara No Dansei, and closely with the models as well."

Sasuke's eyes shot open in surprise.

Itachi nodded. "This cannot be a coincidence. It all but confirms our suspicions of both Konoha and Naruto Uzumaki, though there's no evidence to warrant an arrest."

"Naruto Uzumaki? The photographer?" Sasuke asked, disbelieving. Itachi nodded in the affirmative, looking sober.

"That can't be right," the raven shook his head. "These murders were the work of a bloodthirsty mastermind. Naruto's far too stupid-"

"Sasuke…" Itachi said softly, his eyes meeting his brother's. "I tried to talk the chief out of asking you to stay. This is getting deeper and much more dangerous than what you signed up for."

Sasuke hated that look.

He hated it when Itachi tried to protect him because it made him feel weak and useless. It reminded him of that time long ago, and it made him feel like he was child again, sobbing and crying out for his parents while he soaked his brother's shirt with tears. Itachi hadn't cried then. Sasuke wasn't sure he had ever cried.

Sasuke turned away, glaring at the wall. "You shouldn't have bothered. The whole of Konoha was a suspect before, why would one more person differ me?" He stalked towards the kitchen, shoulders hunched forward. "Are you planning to eat dinner here?" he asked, trying to sound irritated, thought it came out with a more hopeful tone to it.

Itachi smiled slightly, standing up from the couch. "Just take care of yourself, Otouto," he said as he walked towards the hallway.

Sasuke gave an indiscriminant "Hn," as he heard the door to the apartment open and then close again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Konoha Kara No Dansei **

* * *

**Warnings:** ooc Neji, cursing, Tobito theory, scattered plot points (watch your step, they're sharp) 

Hugs for all my reviewers!!! I offer three types so take your pick from -appreciative with tears, squeezing your lungs until you turn blue, and the ever classic glomp.

You know, there was once a ye olden time when I thought I could update every two weeks. But I can only seem to churn them out once a month at best. I don't really want to cut down the chapter length or the quality of writing (it's minimal enough as it is). Hopefully during winter break I'll be able to write more quickly and get ahead of my posting. But as it is now, I'm writing as I go.

Also! I decided to go back and change Arashi to Minato because it was bugging me. So don't be surprised when you see that name in future chapters. (Also corrected a few spelling errors)

* * *

Working a regular job was having weird side effects on Naruto. Every morning for the past week he had woken up with the distinct feeling that he was a Scottish warrior waking on the morning of a bloody battle. Stress caused reoccurring dreams, right? Yeah, Naruto was sticking to that. 

So aside from actually dealing with the models, who were driving him crazy of course, Naruto was finding it difficult to take decent pictures of them. At least professionally speaking. Sure, the models were good looking but that doesn't necessarily make a good photo.

Not to say Naruto didn't like a lot of things about his job. Most of the people at Konoha were pretty cool. Gai and Lee were always cracking him up and Kiba stuck to Naruto like glue whenever they were in the same room (_finally_ there was someone in this company who would laugh at Kiba's low brow humor) and the dog boy had the authority to give Shino a hard time on his behalf. Not that Naruto needed to be stuck up for, but he still appreciated the effort. Even Sakura was nice to him when Sasuke wasn't the topic of discussion.

That bastard.

Naruto sprinted down the sidewalk, making sure to avoid the crowds of people who were taking up most of his walking space. His camera bag swung back and forth on his shoulder as he went, bouncing off his orange shirt.

The construction on a building across the street was causing a lot of undue racket that was pounding on his eardrums. The congested traffic wasn't doing his ears any favors either. Honking wasn't going to make the other cars move any faster, people!

Naruto jogged to catch a cross walk before it turned red. He barely scrapped past in the yellow and grinned at his small victory.

The problem with Konoha's models is that they were too stiff, formal… snobbish, high-strung. However you want to put it, they didn't like to show their emotions. Not their real ones anyway. Naruto had enough experience in that department to know when someone was faking.

_Maybe the perverted janitor was right. I need to do something to loosen them up,_ Naruto thought idly, slowing his pace to a leisurely walk.

He looking up at the blue summer sky, framed by skyscrapers on either side of the street. It really was a beautiful day. Too bad he had to go in for a meeting. It would have been a good day to visit the park.

Naruto refocused his eyes, spotting the diner he'd been going to for breakfast the last few days. It was a really nice place with fairly inexpensive food, plus Naruto liked its name: '_The Flame'_.

Stopping at the crosswalk, Naruto waited, a hand absentmindedly fiddling with the keys hooked to the belt loop in his jeans. He frowned slightly as a nagging thought he'd been having threatened to resurface.

Sasuke hadn't spoken a word to him since the first photo shoot. At first Naruto had been positive that the bastard was planning some sort of horrible retaliation for that picture. So whenever Sasuke's glare happened to turn in Naruto's direction, Naruto made a point expressing that he was ready for anything Sasuke could throw at him, "Bring it on!!" But now, days later, he wasn't so sure Sasuke was planning anything at all.

Naruto snorted and scowled. What a priss. Giving up so easily just because of an embarrassing photo. Maybe Sasuke wasn't as fiery as he'd first suspected.

Then again, Naruto doubted that. Sure, the bastard was stoic and reserved off camera, but when Naruto stared through his camera lens and looked in Sasuke's eyes, their intensity floored him. Even as a nature photographer, Naruto knew that the mark of a good model was the amount of emotion they could show in one look.

Sasuke, for all his bastardliness… looked really good in pictures, intense even. He probably just didn't consider Naruto worth the time to retaliate or some shit like that.

He was _really_ starting to piss Naruto off.

It would have been one thing if Sasuke were the kind of good looking where he had to wear fashionable clothes and makeup to get by, but Naruto was slowly discovering that Sasuke put little to no effort into his appearance. The same way he put no effort into getting Sakura's attention, or into becoming a top model. It all happened naturally for him.

Life was so fucking unfair.

Why did people like Sasuke get everything handed to them on a silver platter, when Naruto had to work so hard just for table scraps? Then Sasuke had the gaul to treat Naruto like he was some none entity.

Naruto eyes snapped into focus as he realized the people around him were crossing the street. He shook his head, dispelling the stupid thoughts and set a smile in place. He straightened his back he crossed, heading towards the diner.

Why the hell was he thinking about that kind of thing anyway? No use feeling sorry for himself. Who gives a flying fuck whether Sasuke acknowledged him or not? It was no skin off his nose.

_Damn, I'm still half asleep. That's the problem. Need coffffeeee._

-:-

"Thank you, and please come again!" a young waitress blushed and smiled as she placed Sasuke's bill on the table.

Sasuke gave a small grunt of acknowledgment, causing the girl to blush an even deeper shade of red as she scurried away. Sasuke ignored the spectacle and gave the bill a quick glance over before returning to his newspaper.

One hand gripped the handle of his coffee mug and he raised it to his lips, taking a slow sip. The slightly bitter taste was soothing and he was slowly feeling more and more awake as the drink disappeared.

God, he hated mornings. Coffee made everything better. That's what he liked about this diner. They actually served good, strong coffee, that didn't taste like it had been watered down so that it could stretch across five hundred patrons.

Sasuke set the cup down and sighed inwardly. He leaned back, resting his head against the laminated cushioning of the booth. He was grateful to have a quiet moment to himself for once. No squealing fans to bother him, and no suspected murderers glaring daggers at him.

Sasuke took a deep breath, expelling the air slowly.

No, he was not stressed. He could handle anything with a calm demeanor and a level head. However, the growing pile of complications in his life was becoming… annoying.

Sasuke wasn't a real policeman, but a civilian participating in an investigation. That meant he wasn't allowed to go near to the Konoha building without some level of protection, aka, Kakashi. It was a reasonable rule and one Sasuke was willing to follow.

But did Kakashi always, _always_ have to be late for every single thing? Sasuke despised being late with a passion, and Kakashi seemed to find that fact endlessly amusing. If the detective hadn't been such a close friend of his uncle, Sasuke probably would have been a murderer himself by now.

But Kakashi was nothing compared to the fans. Rabid, hormone-driven girls who begged (and forced) him to sign their bras and panties on a normal day. It had gotten so bad that Konoha was actually a break from the madness going to school had become, and considering he had to put up with Sakura and Ino at Konoha… that was just sad.

Then on top of all that, the workload from his summer classes was wearing him to the breaking point, though he would never admit that anyone but himself and only when he wasn't thinking straight. Trying to fit the workload for an entire class into six weeks wasn't easy by any means. Especially when taking multiple courses. But it was fast, and necessary if he wanted to graduate early, like Itachi had.

Study time and the investigation (Sasuke refused to call it modeling) clashed more often than he would have liked. After so many weeks and no leads within Konoha, he had opted for studying when he had to choose. His real career goals took precedent over the fake ones. But now that Naruto had shown up he'd have to make time for both again, as he couldn't allow Naruto to go unchecked while he did homework.

Sasuke massaged his temples, thinking of the earful he had gotten from the blond photographer yesterday, and the day before that… and every fucking day since he'd shown his whiskered mug.

Their first meeting aside, Sasuke hadn't said a single bad word to the man. Even with his lack of sleep and growing frustration he realized it wasn't smart to insult a potential murderer. But Naruto went on yapping as if Sasuke had run over his puppy and never apologized.

Murderer or not, that idiot could hold a grudge tighter than anyone Sasuke had ever met, and over something so stupid too. What did it matter if he pissed off some random guy because he was exhausted and didn't feel like relocating their crap? It wasn't a personal attack, no matter how personally Naruto took it.

Sasuke tired to refocus on the article he had been reading, but it was hard to stay interested in the problems with the public school system when something a professor of his had said during his freshman year kept sneaking to the forefront of his mind. It was part of the basics of criminal psychology. Though it couldn't always be applied to real life situations, the concept wasn't something he could ignore.

Simply put, it was much more common for passive aggressive cases to result in multiple homicides. Adversely, Naruto declared he hated Sasuke every five minutes. There was nothing passive about him. The man the police were searching for had been avoiding capture for nearly a year. Would that man risk blowing his cover by acting so openly hostile?

If Naruto was indeed the killer then Sasuke was the most likely target. If that was the case then the blond's behavior didn't make sense. Assuming he didn't want to get caught. This was also assuming one of the other models wasn't the target, in which case Sasuke would have to be even more vigilant. There were so many things that could go wrong. What's more, he hadn't exactly told Itachi that he pissed off the subject of their homicide investigation. He would be taken off the case and this opportunity to join the police force and ultimately catch his parents' murderer would be gone because of his own screw up.

Sasuke was not stressed.

But it certainly didn't help that everyone seemed hell bent on making his life more difficult.

Sasuke gave up on reading and folded the newspaper, tucking it under his arm as he stood. He made his way to the front register and paid for his coffee. He ignored the waitress as she waved goodbye and stepped out onto the crowded sidewalk, the little bell at the top of the door jingling as he did so.

The waitress sighed once he had gone, disappointed that he still didn't know her name even though he came here every morning, and set about busying herself with a stack of menus.

It wasn't thirty seconds later before the bell rang again and Naruto stepped into the diner. He glanced around and smiled, appreciating the homey atmosphere of the diner, and walked to the front counter.

"Can I have a table for one? Window seat if you have it," he asked.

The waitress grabbed and menu and stepped out from behind the counter. "Certainly, a table just opened up."

-:-

"Kiba! Control that damn dog before I neuter both of you!! Shino, you're forbidden from wearing that cologne again! NARUTO, if that camera flashes one more time-!"

Naruto took the camera away from his face, looking at the digital screen. Tsunade's wrinkles really stood out when she was angry. Guess botox doesn't solve everything. Naruto snickered.

He had already gotten several good shots of Tsunade screaming her head off this morning and even better than that was the photo of Akamaru humping Shino's leg. Oh yeah, this was a great day in Uzumaki history. Naruto was still laughing, even though it had happened a whole fifteen minutes ago. That photo was going up on his wall, right next to the one of him giving Sasuke the middle finger.

"Alright boy, that's enough," Kiba chuckled, turning his chair and leaning towards Akamaru to get the dog's attention. His teeth were bared in an amused grin as he patted his knee.

Akamaru immediately jumped up from where he'd been sitting, leaving a drool stain on Shino's shoe, and pranced over to his master, looking extremely pleased with himself. Naruto knew Akamaru's sudden attachment to Shino had very little to do with the editor's cologne and a lot to do with Kiba getting back at his stoic colleague for a comment about his writing style.

Shino set his stony gaze on the two chuckling men, obviously not amused. Tsunade didn't look amused either, but that was probably because she wanted Shino to finish his boring report so they could move on to other things.

The other department heads and stockholders present at the meeting were unshaken, though some had laughed at Akamaru's affectionate display, most were seated around the table quietly, looking impatient.

From her seat at the head of the table, Tsunade sighed and waved a hand for Shino to continue.

"As I was saying," the stoic editor continued, his lips pinched together, "The last issue ended our summer session and the next will feature a fall theme. I've discussed the price of printing August's layout with our accountant and I believe we can up the ante next month. I propose we use the extra money to cut down on advertisements and have full two page spreads featuring each of the models and the fashions they're promoting for fall."

"Sounds good if we have the money for it," Tsunade answered shortly. "Since full spreads are usually reserved for holiday months, we can run this as a sort of special issue, Shikamaru, did you double check your math on all this?"

"No," Shikamaru said lazily. He was sitting in the seat directly across from Tsunade. "But it's correct."

"Double check anyway," Tsunade ordered. She clicked her pen and closed the folder in front of her. "That's everything except for my final announcement."

Shino took his seat next to Kiba while Tsunade shifted through her mess of papers. Naruto leaned over Kiba so he could whisper to the stoic editor.

"Ah, so my photos are good enough for full page spreads? Imagine that."

Shino neither confirmed nor denied the statement, as he preferred to ignore the snickering morons.

Tsunade found the paper she was looking for and stood up. She smiled, waving for Sakura to come over. The pink haired girl had been waiting in a seat in the corner of the room during the meeting.

Sakura immediately perked up and ran forward, clutching her own stack of papers to her chest. Tsunade placed a hand on the blushing girl's shoulder as she faced the room's occupants.

"Everyone," she paused to make sure she had everyone's attention. "We should all congratulate Sakura. Her Shibui Line as been nominated for the upcoming Shinobi Fashion Show in Michigan!"

Naruto barely had time to wonder what that meant before a host of excited voices broke out. He looked around as the businessmen and women stood to shake hands with the beaming girl, offering congratulations and encouragement.

Naruto scrunched his face in confusion and poked Kiba in the side of the head. "Hey, Sakura got into a fashion show? I didn't know it was a nomination thing. Is it really good?"

Kiba swatted the hand away. "Are you kidding? It's fantastic! Especially for a rookie designer to be nominated for such a high-class show. It's a nation wide competition and the winners get featured in Milan!"

Naruto grinned, "So Sakura's pretty good, right?"

Kiba chuckled. "You know Milan, they like the crazy stuff," he muttered, but Naruto was already up and bouncing towards Tsunade and Sakura, waving his hands in the air so he could be seen over the other people's heads.

"Oi! Oi! Sakura! Congratulations!" Naruto shouted as he approached.

Sakura smiled when Naruto managed to get to her. Naruto gave an inward cheer. "Thanks, Naruto! You want to see the designs that got in?"

Sakura looked so keen on showing them, so Naruto earnestly nodded his head in the affirmative. She handed him the papers she had been carrying, which turned out to be large sketches of the outfits. Naruto recognized a few of them, most notably Sai's belly shirt combo. For such a lighthearted girl, Sakura could think up some pretty damn freaky outfits. The Shibui line was all dark colors, complimented with skulls, extra belts and a bunch of other gothic designs.

"They're perfect for our models, aren't they?" Naruto said, looking up at the girl.

Now he noticed that Tsunade had moved to the other side of the room to shake hands to the stockholders as they left, reassuring them that their money was in good hands. Kiba and Shino were beside her, exchanging pleasantries with the same people. Shikamaru looked like he had fallen asleep in his chair.

Naruto handed the sketches back to Sakura, scratching the back of his head with his other hand. The were essentially alone, so now was as good a time as any.

"Um… Hey, Sakura?"

"Yeah?" She asked as she leaned down to put the sketches into her small portfolio. "What is it?" She asked again, looking up at the blond. She gave him a questioning look as she stood up. Naruto took another second to gather his courage before asking.

"I was just thinking… you want to get dinner with me tonight? We can go to a nice restaurant and I'll pay for whatever you want. Or maybe you'd like to see a movie or a play instead?" What did New York girls do for fun?! Regardless, Naruto ended with a smile, his face tinted slightly pink.

Sakura frowned and her eyes darted to the side before they refocused on him. Crap, that wasn't a good sign.

"I'm sorry, I'm busy tonight. Tsunade is taking me to dinner with some of our stockholders. You know, so they can get to know me a little," she said, a hand playing with the frills on the end of her sleeve. She was a Lolita again today.

Naruto suddenly realized that Sakura had been looking at Tsunade when she had glanced away. "Oh. OH! Okay! Maybe some other time?" He asked, unable to keep hopeful tone from his voice.

"I'm going to be really busy for a while…" Sakura teetered off at the end.

Okay,_ now_ Naruto's hopes were crushed. Shit. Time for some damage control. Naruto placed his hands in his pockets and plastered a smile on his face.

"I should have figured you'd be busy!" He knocked on his head. "Sometimes I wonder if there's anything going on up there! You have an important fashion show to get ready for after all!"

Sakura looked relieved that he had let the dinner invitation drop. "But you're going too! You're the photographer after all."

Naruto's eyes widened a little. "Oh yeah. I should probably cover that."

Sakura laughed. "You think? Geez," she said as she reached down for her portfolio. "See you tomorrow, Naruto."

Naruto gave a small awkward wave as Sakura left. She exchanged a short word with Tsunade as she went out the door.

Once she was out of sight Naruto slumped forward, his face nearly touching his chest. He was tempted to bang his head against the table. _Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid._

"Heh,_ smooth_." Kiba clamped a hand down on Naruto's shoulder. Startled, the photographer jumped before he could stop himself and then made up for it by whipping his head around to glare at his supposed friend. That just made the dog boy laugh even more.

"Hey, don't sweat it, Jersey boy! I hear there's lots of other fish in the sea. And at strip clubs!"

"_Fantastic_," Naruto grouched. Damnit, didn't Kiba understand that he wanted to mope? Fucking eavesdropper.

Tsunade approached them, ignoring Kiba and speaking directly to the blond, "Naruto, run a quick errand for me." She held out an envelope. "Take this down to the mailing room and have them send it off."

Naruto's mouth fell open. "Eh?! What am I? A delivery boy?"

"Of course not, and don't complain, brat. I just thought you could save me a trip since you're finished for the day anyway." She held the envelope closer and Naruto took it, snorting as he did so.

"Fine, you old hag."

Tsunade smiled in response; apparently she was aiming to hold a civil conversation today. "We haven't had many chances to talk. How are the photo shoots coming?"

"Yeah, how _are_ they coming?" Kiba echoed the woman. Naruto elbowed him in the gut, causing Kiba to recoil from his shoulder, clutching his stomach and cursing loudly. Naruto smirked.

Tsunade frowned and lowered her eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

"Ah, nothing I can't handle!" Naruto held up a fist, demonstrating his determination. "I told ya I didn't like snooty models, so we just don't get along all the time. That's all, nothing serious."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Just don't cause too much trouble. But as far as I'm concerned you can badger the models all you want."

Naruto's mouth stretched into a small, evil grin and he rubbed his hands together. "_Excellent."_

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Just get a move on, brat. I have to have a word with Shino and Kiba."

"Fine, fine! I'm going!" Naruto walked over to the door, saying a quick goodbye to the two editors as he left.

He was halfway to the elevator before he heard pounding footsteps behind him. He looked back to see Kiba sprinting towards him, pulling a very excited Akamaru with him.

"Ah, hey, sorry Naruto, but do you think you could take Akamaru outside for a minute? He has some business to do and Tsunade gets mad when we skip out on meetings for potty breaks," Kiba spoke quickly, obviously in a rush.

Naruto snorted in amusement and grabbed the dog's collar. "You're really hopeless, you know that? I'll bail you out this time, even though you don't deserve it."

"Much obliged! Just put him in my office when you're done!" Kiba shouted over his shoulder, already running back towards the conference room.

Naruto squatted down and scratched the top of Akamaru's head, trying to calm the animal a little. Akamaru licked up and down Naruto's face, his mouth hanging open in what looked like a lopsided smile. Naruto laughed and had to turn away to keep drool from getting in his eyes and mouth.

He rubbed the dog's back, a small frown forming on his face. "I really liked her, you know."

Akamaru yawned, making a groaning sound as he did so.

Pulling Akamaru by the collar, Naruto made the short trek to Kiba's office were he grabbed Akamaru's collar. He had stuffed Tsunade's letter in his pocket for safekeeping. He should probably deliver that before the large dog jumping on him compromised its safety much more.

Naruto stepped out of the elevator on the ground floor, Akamaru walking beside him, and made his way to the mailing room. As he was pushing open the swinging door, Akamaru decided it was a good time to give a deafening bark and jump up to lick Naruto's face, pushing Naruto into the door and slamming it open.

Naruto yelled more in surprise than pain, but was still able to hear a small gasp and the sound of papers falling to the floor. Pushing Akamaru back, he looked over to see a girl with long dark hair hastily gathering envelopes off the floor.

"Damn! I'm sorry we scared you!" Naruto rushed forward and began picking up the envelopes with one hand, using the other to hold Akamaru still.

The girl looked up slightly, a blush running across her nose and cheeks. "It's okay… I've got it," she said timidly, though she had momentarily stopped trying to pick up the envelopes as Naruto hectically pushed them into a pile, most flying off as he did so.

Naruto realized he was probably doing more harm than good and stopped, sitting back on his heels as the girl calmly gathered the envelopes into a straight pile.

"Sorry about this," Naruto apologized again, and then he turned to glare at Akamaru. The dog just continued to pant. "Don't look so innocent! This was your doing, dog!"

The girl giggled but quickly stifled it. She stood up with the envelopes, her eyes decidedly looking everywhere but Naruto's face.

Naruto stood also, raising an eyebrow at her strange behavior. "So what's your name?" he asked.

The girl turned several shades of red and proceeded to stare at her feet. "Hi- Hinata… Hyuuga."

Naruto did a double take. "Hyuuga?"

She nodded quickly.

"You wouldn't be related to Neji Hyuuga, would you?"

"He's my cousin," she stuttered, twisting the envelopes in her hands. "He- He got me this job in the mailroom. Just for the summer. Before I go back to class."

Naruto blinked and watched the shy girl squirm for another moment before a slow grin spread across his face. _Well, slap my hide! Neji has a soft spot after all. How cute is this? Looking out for his little cousin._

Naruto chuckled and held up a hand, pointing the thumb at himself. "Well, I'm the one photographing that cousin of yours! Naruto Uzumaki, best photographer in town!"

The girl looked up so Naruto could see her eyes clearly for the first time, they were the same pearly shade as Neji's. She smiled slightly. "I know, you told everyone in the cafeteria…"

"Ah… you saw that?" Naruto scratched a hand through his hair. He was a little embarrassed that such a sweet girl had already witnessed him flying off the handle.

Hinata nodded, gathering strength for what she was about to say next. "It was bra-brave of you, to stand up to them like that. Neji too. He… sometimes thinks very highly of himself."

Naruto had to stop himself from laughing too loudly at that, though some chuckles still out. "Yeah, heh, I noticed."

By now Akamaru had wound around his legs a few times and was starting to whimper, nails clacking against the floor as he impatiently batted his paws at Naruto's feet. "Don't be so impatient, Akamaru!"

"That's Kiba's dog, isn't it?" Hinata asked quietly, leaning down and holding out the palm of her hand for Akamaru to sniff. Which he did, with great interest, before licking her fingers.

Naruto knew Hinata was letting her hand get slobbered coated just out of politeness. God, no sane person would allow that willingly. He pulled back on Akamaru's leash to relieve the girl.

"Yeah! Kiba's in a meeting so he asked me to take Akamaru outside for some business of his own." He grinned a little, "We'd probably better get on that, actually." _Before he gets pissed and goes on my leg._

"Ah…okay," she fidgeted, wringing her hands together in a nervous gesture. Hinata was really just too adorable. Neji was lucky.

Naruto snickered, "I'll let you get back to work. Oh! But could you add this to your stack?" He reached into his pocket for Tsunade's envelope. He'd almost forgotten.

"Of- Of course." She took it from him, face turning red again as she snatched it from him the moment their fingers touched. She was so twitchy.

Naruto shrugged it off, everyone had their quirks. Heck, about eighty percent of his wardrobe was bright orange. He was in no position to judge.

"See you around, Hinata!" He waved as he led Akamaru out of the room.

Hinata waved back, making sure the sound of Naruto's footsteps was well away from the room before she leaned against the wall, trying her best to compose herself.

-:-

Naruto glared at his watch, checked it with the one on the wall again and grunted irritably. Where the fuck were his models?!

He looked over to where Sakura and Ino were sitting in two foldout chairs, talking about makeup or some shit like that. Naruto couldn't really pay attention to that kind of thing for very long without falling asleep, so he settled for huffing and pacing around the studio instead.

After a few more minutes he couldn't hold it in anymore. "This is just stupid! Usually at least Sai shows up on time! Where are those jerks?"

Sakura and Ino looked up but didn't respond. Apparently they had no idea either.

He glanced at the clock again. It was now twenty after. If they weren't here by ten thirty he was going home.

Pleased with his decision, he continued to wear a path in the tiled floor.

"I think I have an idea where they might be," Sakura said, speaking more to Ino than Naruto. Both blondes whipped their heads around.

"Ooh, where?" Ino asked with interest, interpreting Sakura's tone as that of someone hiding a juicy piece of gossip.

Sakura couldn't keep the mischievous smile from her face. "The weight room. Tenten said she was going to give them a hard workout today."

"What the-? But we have a photo shoot scheduled!" Naruto shouted, holding his camera up to emphasize his point.

"What?! And you didn't tell me!" Ino shouted at Sakura, excitement radiating from her thin form as she jumped to her feet.

"I didn't think they'd be over there until later!" Sakura defended herself.

"Well thanks to you we might have missed all the good stuff by now!"

Naruto scowled. "Good stuff?"

Sakura growled and stood up. "You just want to ogle Sasuke, Pig!"

"Not true," Ino responded confidently, folding her arms. "I like ogling all of them. Especially when they're hot and sweaty."

Sakura seemed placated. "Well maybe if we hurry…"

Naruto rolled his eyes and stepped forward. "Come on, let's go find them." _So I can beat the crap out of them and drag their asses back here. _

"You don't have to come, Naruto," Ino responded quickly.

"No, I think I do." He placed a hand on each of their backs and directed them towards the door. "Let's go break up their tea party, girls!"

Sakura and Ino pouted as they led the way to the weight room, Naruto walking behind them with his hands folded behind his neck. He sighed to himself, closing his eyes momentarily. Even though Naruto was grateful that Sakura was still treating him normally after she rejected his date offer, her obvious infatuation with Sasuke was grating. That pansy ass jerk didn't deserve her attention.

They had to take the elevator down and by the time they got off Sakura and Ino didn't really care if Naruto was there or not. They wanted to see sweaty models, god damn it! They sprinted the last few steps to the weight room door, eagerly pressing against the window, each vying for the best vantage point at which to watch Sasuke.

Naruto walked up behind them and stretched a little to look over their heads into the gym area.

It was a large room with matted floors and exercise equipment strewn about. Tenten was at one side of the room, demonstrating leg-lift aerobics as Gai and Lee enthusiastically followed along, encouraging an obviously exhausted and irritable Neji to continue. Because he stubbornly refused to wear spandex he didn't have as wide a range of motion as the green beasts.

Gaara was nearby with a twenty-pound weight in each hand, slowly flexing his arms as he lifted them and brought them down again. He looked extremely bored, or at least less psychotic than normal. Kankuro and Temari were standing to the side, holding his towel and water bottle.

Unsurprisingly, Sasuke was furthest from the group. He had found a punching bag to beat up on while Kakashi leaned against the wall and read his book. Sasuke seemed to be working off a lot of steam on it too. He was also wearing a loose fitting tank top and low riding sweatpants.

Sakura and Ino were immediate turned to putty. Naruto thought he might look down and see a yellow and pink puddle soaking into his shoes.

"Wow," Ino breathed through a leering smile.

Naruto grunted and glared. "So he's wearing a tank top shirt. Big deal, I could do that. At least I have the muscles to fill it out."

"Naruto! Quit being obnoxious, we're trying to watch!" Sakura hissed in a low voice.

Naruto pouted and grumbled under his breath for the next few minutes, turning away from door. He really wanted to go in and yell at his models for being late. Especially Sasuke. Particularly Sasuke.

A loud gasp was issued from both of girls. Naruto quickly turned and look into the room, thinking there had been some kind of accident.

"He took off his shirt!" Ino narrated with an excited squeal. Sakura was too red faced to speak.

Naruto deflated. "I'll alert the media," he deadpanned.

Yeah, Sasuke had taken off his shirt. Whoop-de-doo. He was pretty scrawny really, maybe a few muscles in his arms and chest, but nothing to get this worked up over. But now that Naruto was looking more closely, he noticed that the bastard had wrapped bandages around his hands for added protection as he continued his abuse of the punching bag. His hands… were raw. How far did he intent to go? You'd think he was trying to break that thing.

"What a nice surprise," a voice breathed in Naruto's ear. The blond jerked away from his assailant, only to see Sai wearing his usual fucked up smile standing behind them. The model's voice held a hint of excitement that was disturbingly similar to Ino's. "I didn't realize you were a voyeur!"

"WHAT?!!" Naruto blurted.

"Eh? Sai!" Sakura tore her eyes away from Sasuke, having the decency to look guilty while Ino stared on, unabated.

"No, please. Don't stop on my account, Sakura. In fact, why don't you all come inside? The view is much better."

Sai pushed the door open and walked inside, politely holding it open for the others. Ino and Sakura gave each other a look before following. Naruto sent Sai death glares as shuffled inside, keeping in mind the reason he came here in the first place.

When Sai had opened the door, the first thing Naruto heard was an argument that sounded like Neji bitching. Tenten was steadfast in her position that sweat was good for the skin. Neji insisted that his skin got dry after a hard workout. Gai and Lee was trying to placate the two, but looked around when Naruto and others had entered the gym. Lee bound over to them, already worked into a youthful frenzy.

"Friends! Join us in our youthful exercising! We must not waste the springtime of our lives!"

Sasuke halted mid punch, sweat caused by exertion rolled down his row as he glanced over at the newcomers, only to be met with Naruto's best 'I hate your guts' glare. Sasuke kept his face perfectly schooled, showing no reaction to the hostility. Sakura and Ino had arrived with him, but Lee was distracting them with his overt ranting. Sasuke decided it was a good time to grab his shirt.

Naruto gritted his teeth when Sasuke turned away and went pick up his discarded shirt from the floor. The fact that Naruto hated him didn't bother Sasuke at all!

Naruto snorted and turned away.

"Shouldn't you guys be at a photo shoot about now?" he asked shortly.

"I apologize."

Slightly startled, Naruto looked around for the new person he hadn't noticed. Then he realized with a start that Gaara was the one who had spoken. Naruto went slack jawed when the red head continued.

"The clock in this room is broken. We should have checked the time," Gaara said in a dark, but oddly human sounding voice. Naruto was so dumbfounded all he could do was nod and clear his throat.

"That- That's okay. It's not really a big deal," he murmured. "Just uh, you know, don't do it again." So much for laying the smack down. When Gaara apologizes - you listen.

Apparently others felt the same because most of the conversations had come to a halt by the time Gaara nodded and returned to lifting his weights.

Gai and Lee eventually broke the silence by encouraging Naruto and the girls to join in, explaining how healthy exercise was. With Gai's added enthusiasm they didn't have the power to refuse.

By the end of the first workout Naruto was in a much better mood. He always felt better when he could work off some steam. Tenten led the session after beating Neji's skin issues into submission. Naruto would have to ask her how she did that.

Sakura and Ino were disappointed when they realized that Sasuke had put his shirt back on. Sai tried to make up for it by taking off his own shirt. Ino thought it was a nice conciliation and Sakura just got huffy.

Naruto eventually moved on to his forte, the weights.

-:-

Sasuke was attempting to ignore that moronic photographer's boasting. He was fighting tooth and nail against the urge to just strangle the blond for being such a loudmouthed idiot.

But Naruto had the type of personality that demanded attention and that trait extended itself all the way from his choice of clothing to his obnoxiously loud voice. Naruto's voice was boring into Sasuke's skull like a drill and he couldn't ignore it.

"I bet you pissy models never work up a real sweat, you're all skin and bone!" "Hey! Everybody watch me! I'm going to lift this thing! Are you watching?!" "Man! I'm kinda hungry. After this let's get some ramen, okay?" "Sai! Get the fuck away from me!!" "Ha! I bet you the bastard couldn't even lift fifty pounds!"

Sasuke would not allow something like this to get under his skin. He was above it. He was an Uchiha and therefore a master of his emotions.

Kakashi glanced over the top of his book. Sasuke was punches were laced with badly restrained anger, sending the two hundred pound bag flying around like a rag doll.

"Whoo!! Sakura, Ino, did you _see_ that! I just bench pressed a hundred and thirty pounds that time!" Naruto's shout was heard from across the room. "That's ten pounds over my average! I'm on fire today!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth ground his fist into the bag, imaging it was Naruto's jaw instead. That moron _would not_ shut up. It felt like he had been going on for hours, stroking his own ego and bragging endlessly. And… Sasuke could bench press one hundred and fifty.

"Something the matter, Sasuke?" Kakashi's voice wafted towards him.

"No," was the clipped answer.

"That's pretty impressive, Naruto," Ino commented, sounding sincerely impressed.

"That was amazing!" Gai cheered. "That is nearly the same level as Lee! To have such young prodigies in our midst-" Gai became teary eyed and clinched his fists. "I insist you engage in a match to test your strength!"

"Ooooohh!!" Lee shouted with enthusiasm, fire burning in his eyes.

Naruto laughed in amusement, folding his arms behind his head. "Why not? I used to be on the wrestling team back in high school. Sounds like fun!"

Neji's eyebrow ticked. He was ruffled and disgruntled from the workout session already, he didn't want to stick around for more. "If you're going to waste time I'm going to take a shower."

Naruto grinned after the model's retreating back. Neji's hair was sticking out at odd angles and Naruto thought he could spot a few split ends. He wouldn't be surprised if they heard a shriek when Neji managed to find a mirror.

"Your loss!" Naruto called as Neji disappeared into the locker room.

"It certainly is," Sai agreed in a sultry tone. Predictably, Naruto exploded in indignation.

Shortly after Naruto and Lee faced off on opposite ends of a mat. Even Gaara and his siblings had come forward to watch the match, though Temari and Kankuro looked more astounded at Gaara's show of interest.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder at the group, realizing most of them, including Naruto and models, were partially hidden from view. He sent Kakashi a glare that plainly told the lazy detective to do his fucking job and get over there.

"Maa, don't be such a worrier, Sasuke. Nothing can happen here. Besides, changing our behavior now might cause suspicion," Kakashi said in a low voice, never lowering his book.

Sasuke's glare intensified and he paused his workout, turning towards the group. Kakashi sighed as he watched Sasuke come to his decision and walk towards them.

"That boy never does anything halfway."

Using the prerequisite of grabbing a towel from the laundry cart to get a better vantage point, Sasuke whipped his face and looked over at two men facing each other.

"Remember, Naruto, it took both you and your friend to take me down last time," Lee warned, standing steadily with one hand held out and the other behind his back. Sasuke recognized the karate position.

"Heh, that's just because you caught me off guard. Don't expect to get so lucky again," Naruto said with a confidant smirk, standing with his feet set far apart and his arms up like he was ready tackle his opponent.

They circled around each other a few times before Lee made the first move, sliding his leg forward in an attempt to knock Naruto off his feet. Naruto dodged just in time and made to grab Lee by the crook of his arm. The green beast was too fast for him however and included capture.

This continued, both trying and failing to hit the other, until Naruto found an opening and grabbed Lee around the shoulders from behind, locking his arms in place. Lee struggled vigorously but couldn't break free of Naruto's brute strength and had no choice but to graciously concede defeat.

"Naruto, you are truly a worthy opponent." Lee flashed a smile and gave the nice-guy pose. "I am proud to have fought you!"

Gai's tears were overflowing again. "Lee, you are truly a gracious man in the prime of his youth!" Sakura and Ino scooted away from him slowly.

Naruto, for his part, was busy doing a victory dance, whooping as he scooted back and forth across the mat. "Ha ha! Nothing to feel bad about! Losing to me is something you get used to!"

Sasuke stared. He couldn't help it; there was a word on the tip of his tongue begging to escape. It rose and left his mouth before he could even think about stopping it.

"Dobe."

Naruto whirled around, his ears immediately zeroing in on the insult (although technically he didn't know what dobe meant, Naruto recognized an insult when he heard one), his face contorted in anger before he even faced Sasuke.

"Oh? You've finally decided to speak? Coward!"

No. Naruto had _not_ just said that. Sasuke bared his teeth, eyes turning sharp.

Everyone but Naruto retreated few steps under Sasuke's intense glare, but the blond shrugged it off, flipping his hand in a gesture to shoo Sasuke away.

"If you're scared off by one little insulting picture, I'd hate to see how you fare in the real world," Naruto continued. "You wouldn't understand people who actually have to live with hardships."

That struck a cord and Sasuke snapped. He forgot that Naruto might be a serial killer. He forgot that he had already screwed up once before. He forgot that Kakashi was watching, along with all the other people he was forced to spend time with. Including two annoying girls who screamed as his fist plowed into Naruto's face. He wanted to hurt this guy. A lot.

"Whoa! WHOA!" Tenten ran forward as a full-blown fistfight erupted before them. She grabbed each of the boy's arms and attempted to wrench them apart, but they were so intent on killing each other that it took Gai, Lee, Kankuro and Sai's added help they were finally separated.

"If you two are going to fight like thugs, get the hell out of my gym," Tenten snarled, keeping her arms locked around Naruto's arm.

Naruto stopped fighting, though Sai's grip around his waist remained unusually tight. "It's that damn bastard's fault! He just flipped out! He's insane!"

"Keep talking, Uzumaki, and I'll rip that mouth right off your face," Sasuke promised darkly.

Kakashi stared. Come Come Paradise had nearly slipped from his slack fingers. That's how astonished he was. Sasuke was assaulting their target. Perfect record, obsessive-compulsive, Itachi's little shadow, was physically assaulting Naruto and putting their cover in jeopardy. He tried to figure out a creative way around reporting the messy ordeal unfolding before him.

"Pffffh! I'd like to see you try!" Naruto held up his fists, straining against the people holding him back. "Let me go so I can kick his ass!"

By now Sasuke had regained some of his sanity and was suffering from an internal panic attack, which was odd because his exterior was still brimming with anger. He would be taken off the case; there was no doubt about that. The least he could do was give Naruto a good beating first.

Both boys were forcibly escorted from the gym, Tenten, Sai and Kankuro dragging a fighting Naruto into the hallway while Gai and Lee insisted that Sasuke take a shower to cool down.

Since Naruto and Sasuke had been separated Kakashi stood from where he had been leaning against the wall observing and made his way into the hallway. He wound his way through the building until he was sure he was alone, settling on a secluded hallway that seemed to be unused.

Kakashi pulled down the front of his mask and lifted the band covering his eye. Wires were running from his ears, where small nearly invisible ear buds were hiding, down to the neck of his shirt, connecting to the transmission device hidden in an inner pocket. From above his eye, previously covered by the band, he pulled down a microphone. It was attached to his left earpiece and curved around his face to the front of his mouth.

He smirked. And Sasuke said the disguise for his transmission wires was stupid and obvious.

Kakashi tapped the microphone, somewhat puzzled when all he could pick up was static.

"Bang, Good Boy, do you read me?"

He heard shuffling and something that sounded like a voice masked by the static. He tapped the earpiece again and waited. After a few minutes the voice spoke again, much more clearly this time.

"Bang here. Sorry Copy Cat, _somebody_ spilled coffee all over our wires."

Nearby, Good Boy whimpered and the unmistakable thump of Bang hitting him upside the head followed. Kakashi sighed.

"So how long were you out of commission?" he asked, choosing his words carefully.

"We haven't gotten any feed for the last twenty minutes. I only just now got it back online."

"Ahh," Kakashi's drawling voice came over the speaker in the van. Deidara elbowed Tobi in ribs, pushing the clumsy policeman away from the delicate equipment and as well as his own personal space.

They were stationed in a surveillance van in the Konoha parking lot, gathering evidence. Or rather, gathering and organizing two months worth of audio feed.

"Why? Did anything happen?" Deidara asked.

Kakashi hmmed, vocally indicating that he was thinking it over. "Nothing worth the trouble of noting," he answered finally. "I separated from Sasuke so I have to go find him now. Tell Good Boy not to be such a screw up."

"Eh?! You too, Copy Cat?! Why is everyone so mean to me?!" Tobi cried.

Kakashi didn't have to be present to visualize Tobi's arms flaying around like a little kids. He sometimes pondered how he had managed to become best friends with an annoying kid from his childhood, but then he figured there were more interesting ways to preoccupy his mind.


End file.
